fl.3' 


H-v 


i 


SOUTH    AMERI  C  A 


IS  . 


Hizl_r==,Jii 


10 


on 


lie  1 


^- 


|l»|     I  19  [     |g^["^        \2l\22\ 


23 

'  1 

m 

5 
5 

^ 

4 

r 

3 

fj 

ftl 

25\S6 

27 


-^2 


\32\33\34\35\ 
28\2d\  P     ^4_,       !3e1      [37138 


30   3i 


39 


40 


1.  Front  gate.  2.    House  in  which  Cambiaso  and  Garcia  lived. 

3.  Rooms  where  Sir.  Shaw  and  myself  were  first  confined. 

4.  The  room  I  was  afterwards  removed  to. 

5.  Where  Mr.  Dunn,  Capt.  Avalos,  and  others  were  confined. 

6.  TVhere  my  crew  were  confined.       7.    Cillows. 

8.  Tree  wlicre  the  woman  and  others  were  shot. 

9.  The  platform.       10.    Flag-staflT.       11.    Guns. 
12.  Officers'  house.       13.    Cook  and  bake  houses. 

14.  Gate  to  the  yard  where  the  cattle  were  kept. 

15.  Trees  where  Mr.  Shaw,  Capt.  Talbot,  and  the  passenger  were  shot. 

16.  Where  they  were  burnt,  with  the  governor. 

17.  Where  the  vessels'  papers  were  burnt. 

18  to  44.    Houses  or  huts  for  the  soldiers  and  prisoners. 

45.  Calaboose.       46  to  43.  Store  houses. 

50.  Gate.       51.  Sometimes  used  for  calaboose. 

£2.  Dog  house. 


J  p^l^^^ '' 


A-,  i  ,.'-^l    '^  i/^\i 


t_TBE 


SUFFERINGS 

km  mmi 


.  H. 


g^n  Jtoful  |iitpris0itmcnt 


CHILIAN  CONVICTS. 


BOSTON: 

HIGGINS    AND    BRADLEY, 

20  Washinoton  Street. 

1855. 


Bntered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854, 
BY  CHAS.  H.  BROAVN, 
in  the  Cletlt'a  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of 
Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


The  preface  to  a  book  ia  very  often  nothing 
more  than  a  respectable  cloak,  allowed  by  the 
conventionalities  of  literature,  in  which  an  author 
may  wrap  his  excuses  and  apologies  for  troubling 
the  public  with  his  lucubrations.  This  dressing 
up  of  excuses  in  order  to  introduce  them  into 
notice  under  another  name,  is  a  thing  so  tempting 
to  poor  human  nature,  such  a  pleasant  little  off- 
ering to  self  esteem  and  vanity,  that  it  would  be 
very  hard  if  authors  were  to  be  debarred  from 
♦a  luxury  in  which  all  their  fellow  mortals  indulge. 
Yet,  if  it  be  true  that  a  good  wine  needs  no 
bush,  it  is  equally  true  that  a  good  book  needs 
no  excuse ;  and  in  this  age  of  ready  writers,  it 
is  very  certain  that  no  excuse  or  apology  can 
justify  the  publishing  a  bad  one.  To  apologise 
for  poor  or  careless  writing,  because  there  haa 
not  been  time  or  opportunity  to  make  it  better, 
provokes  the  question,  "  What  necessity  was  there 
for  writing  at  all  ?  "  —  a  question  not  always  easily 
answered. 

But  this  is  not  an  apology  for  my  own  book; 
it  is  simply  a  preface  to  the  narrative  of  another 
person,  in  which  I  can  claim  no  part  except  that 


8  P  R  K  F  A  C  K  . 

of  collecting  the  facts  from  different  sources,  of 
arranging  and  compiling  them.  If  in  performing 
this  task,  I  have  in  any  way  "  come  tardy  off," 
my  excuses  are  due  to  both  captain  Brown  and 
his  readers. 

In  writing  out  this  account,  I  have  labored  un- 
der the  disadvantage  of  being  able  to  hold  no 
communication  with  captain  Brown,^  except  by 
letters.  His  legal  papers  connected  with  his  claim 
for  salvage,  and  his  own  concise  narrative  of  his 
sufferings  and  escape,  dra"^^'n  up  for  Mr.  Webster's 
information  at  the  time  the  claim  for  salvage  was 
first  made,  were  put  into  my  hands;  and  his 
letters  from  time  to  time  have  supplied  me  ■w'ith 
the  details.  I  have,  in  every  case  where  it  was 
possible,  retained  his  own  spirited  language  j  but 
I  feel  that  had  it  been  possible  for  me  to  have 
seen  and  heard  him,  the  narrative  as  taken  down 
from  his  lips  might  have  been,  not,  I  believe,  , 
more  correct  as  to  facts,  but  perhaps  more  graphic 
and  life-like    as  to  detail. 

Still,  I  am  convinced  that  the  simple  account 
of  his  adventures,  his  sufferings,  his  unquenchable 
spirit,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  sustained  and 
did  honor  to  the  reputation  of  our  American 
seamen,  amid  dangers  before  which  the  bravest 
might  shrink,  cannot  be  without  its  interest  to 
his  countrymen,  and  especially  to  those  of  his  pro- 
fes.-iion ;  while  every  American  must  feel  that  his 
services  to  the  Chilian  government  were  received 
by  them  without  even  an  acknowledgement  of 
their   value;    his   just    and    legal    claims    being   re- 


PREFACE.  9 

fusetl  almost  with  contumely.  Had  captain  Brown's 
demand  for  salvage  on  the  treasure  rescued  by 
him  been  backed  by  the  presence  of  an  American 
frigate,  commanded  by  such  a  man  as  captain 
Ingraham,  we  should  not  have  seen  the  British 
admiral  allowed  to  carry  it  off  from  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Chilian  authorities,  while  they  feared 
to  serve  the  process  of  detainer  issued  according 
to  the  law  of  the  country ;  nor  should  Ave  have 
seen  an  American  citizen  brow-beaten  by  an  Eng- 
lish officer,  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  to 
his  owners  and  to  the  government  in  whose  em- 
ploy he  was  sailing.  An  American  frigate  would 
have  taught  captain  Stewart  that  no  orders  from 
the  Chilian  government  could  give  him  power  to 
seize  a  vessel  sailing  under  the  American  flag, 
commanded  by   an   American   citizen. 

Such  outrages  and  such  injustice  to  our  citizens 
will  never  occur  when  that  can  be  said  of  the 
American  navy,  which  one  of  our  own  authors 
has  lately  said  so  well  of  the  British.  "  An  Eng- 
lish man-of-war  seems  to  be  always  within  one 
day's  sail  of  every  where.  Let  political  agitation 
break  out  in  any  port  on  the  globe,  if  there  be 
even  a  roll  of  English  broadcloth  or  a  pound  of 
English  tea,  to  be  endangered  thereby,  within 
forty-eight  hours  an  English  steamer  or  frigate  is 
pretty  sure  to  drop  anchor  in  the  harbor  with  an 
air  which  seems  to  say,  '  here  I  am ;  does  any 
body    want   any   thing   of  me  ?  '  "  * 

*  Six  months  in  Italy.     By  George  S.  Hillard. 


10  PREFACE. 

Our  country  should  be  the  guardian  of  her 
children,  wherever  the  rights  of  civilized  society 
are  respected,  that  our  citizens  may  be  in  danger 
of  outrage  and  injustice  only  among  savages  and 
outlaws ;  •  and  we  may  be  assured  that  in  such 
extremities,  they  will,  for  the  most  part,  like  cap- 
tain Brown,  be  found  fully  able  to  protect  them- 
selves. 

To  return  to  my  preface  or  apology :  in  offering 
this  narrative  to  the  public,  let  me  repeat  my 
assurance,  that  captain  Brown  is  answerable  only 
for  the  facts ;  for  whatever  literary  defects  there 
may  be,  I  alone  am  responsible. 

E.  H.  APPLETON. 

Cincinnati. 


C  0  N  TEN  ^   S. 


CHAPTER     E. 

Valparaiso  —  The  barque  Florida  —  Cu/tered  by  the  Chilian 
government  —  Prisoners  for  convict  colony  put  on  board  — 
Captain  Avalos  and  soldiers  sent  for  protection  —  We  set 
saU  —  Arrangement  of  the  vessel  —  llr.  Shaw's  sickness  — 
Attempted  insurrection  among  the  prisoners  —  Prompt 
conduct  of  Captain  Avalos  —  All  quiet  again  —  We  reach 
the  Straits  of  Magellan —  Williwaws  —  We  anchor  in 
Sandy  Bay 15 

CHAPTER    II. 

Sandy  Bay  Colony — Governor  Benjamin  Munoz  Gamero  — 
Insurrection  of  Cambiaso  —  Forged  Message  from  the  Gov- 
ernor—  Landing  of  Captain  Avalos  —  Escape  of  Governor 
Gamero  —  Boat  sent  on  shore  —  Return  of  the  boat — Cap- 
ture of  the  Florida  —  Mr.  Shaw  and  myself  seized — Taken 
on  shore — Our  imprisonment  at  the  baiTacks  —  Privations 
—Mr.  Shaw  removed 30 


# 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    III. 

My  prison  —  My  guards  —  An  English  hymn  book  —  A  fellow 
prisoner — Capture  of  the  Eliza  Cornish  —  Fears  of  the 
English  mate  —  Death  of  Mr.  Shaw — Of  Captain  Talbot 
and  boy  —  Barbarity  of  their  execution  —  The  Chilian  pris- 
oners sympathize  with  us  —  Cambiaso's  bravado —  Captain 
Avalos  and  others  led  out  to  view  the  dead  bodies  — 
Treacherous  betrayal  of  Governor  Gamero  —  Execution 
of  the  traitor  —  My  walk 51 


CHAPTER    lY. 

Capture  of  the  Governor  —  His  execution — I  nm  led  out  of 
my  prison  —  The  burning  of  the  bodies  —  Governor  Ga- 
mero's  character  —  His  intercourse  with  the  native   tribes 

—  The  Priest  Acuna — Arrival  of  H.  B.  M.  war  steamer 
Virago  —  Mr.  Dunn,  the  Secretary — Cambiaso  plans  the 
capture  of  the  steamer — He  fears  her  force  and  discipline 

—  The  officers  invited  on  shore  —  No  suspicions   aroused 

—  The  Virago  sets  sail 71 


CHAPTER    Y. 

We  are  better  treated — Captain  Avalos  again  —  His  priva- 
tions—  The  sergeant  shot — Mr.  Buela  —  Cambiaso's  dis- 
cipline—  His  code  of  laws  —  Personal  appearance  —  His 
vanity — Threats  of  poison  —  Improved  faro  —  The  coffee 


CONTENTS.  13 

—  The  mate  secures  the  E.  Cornish  —  Cambiaso  and 
Garcia  visit  me  —  I  go  on  board  the  Florida  —  My  stew- 
ard  94 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Comparative  comfort  —  The  American  ensign — Christmas 
day  —  My  visit  to  the  barracks  —  The  Indian  boys  —  Cam- 
biaso's  rage  —  Execution  of  the  Indian  woman  —  The 
cattle  slaughtered  —  Escape  of  the  Indians  —  Fears  of  the 
rebels  —  Preparations  for  leaving  —  The  Florida  re-christ- 
ened—  Interview  with  Cambiaso  —  The  embarking  of  the 
colonists  —  Prisoners  sent  to  the  Florida 123 


CHAPTER     VII. 

Cambiaso's  orders  —  We  set  sail — Wood's  Bay  —  The  old 
French  ship  —  A  drunken  riot  —  The  officer  condemned  — 
Garcia's  interference  —  Jlen  deserted  at  Wood's  Bay  —  The 
Eliza  Cornish  left  behind  —  Stonny  weather  —  Sandy  Bay 
again  —  The  Indians  —  Cape  Gregory  —  Interview  with 
Cambiaso  —  His  promises  —  Conversation  with  Mr.  Dunn 
—  My  determination 145 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

The  re-taking  of  the  vessel  planned  —  Mr.  Dunn  —  Captain 
Avalos  —  Preito  —  The  corporal  —  Three  bells  —  The  strug- 

2 


14  CONTENTS. 

gle  —  Cambiaso  overpowered —  Garcia —  Cheers  for  victory 

—  The  crew  swear  fidelity  to  rae  —  Our  course  —  Cambiaso 
put  in  irons  —  His  cowardice  —  The  prisoners  from  the 
hold  —  River  Gallegos  —  Voyage  roimd  Cape  Horn  —  At- 
tempted outbreaks  —  Our  danger — We  reach  San  Car- 
los  169 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Reports  of  the  revolt  reach  San  Carlos  —  American  Ministei 
sends  assistance  —  Chilian  Government  despatches  forces 
to  the  Straits  —  The  Virago  —  Fears  of  the  inhabitants  of 
San  Carlos  —  I  deliver  the  Florida  to  the  Chilian  authorities 

—  Arrival  of  the  E.  Cornish  —  The  Virago  takes  the  pris- 
oners and  treasure  —  Passage  to  Valparaiso  —  Protest  and 
claim  of  salvage  —  Mr.  Duer — Don  Antonio  Varas  —  In 
justice  done  me  by  the  Chilian  government —  The  British 
Admiral  claims  the  treasure — I  protest  again— Com  pro 
mise  —  Don  Antonio  denies  all  claim — My  claims  put  intc 
the  hands  of  tlie  United  States  Authorities 19J 

CHAPTER    X. 

Cambiaso's  trial — His    execution  —  His  character — Garcit 

—  My  interview  with  him —  The  officer  saved  bj'  Garcia  — 
His  wife's  gratitude  —  Mr.  Duer's  kindness  —  Mr.  Dunn  — 
Captain  Avalos  —  Conclusion 220 


INSURRECTION  AT  MAGELLAN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Valparaiso  —  The  barque  Florida — Chartered  by  the  Chilian 
government  —  Prisoners  for  convict  colony  put  on  board  — 
Captain  Avalos  and  soldiers  sent  for  protection  —  We  set 
sail  —  Arrangement  of  the  vessel  —  Mr.  Shaw's  sickness  — 
Attempted  insurrection  among  the  prisoners  —  Prompt 
conduct  of  Captain  Avalos  —  All  quiet  again  —  We  reach 
the  Straits  of  Magellan —  Williwaws  —  We  anchor  in 
Sandy  Bay. 

In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1851, 
1  was  at  the  port  of  Valparaiso,  Chili, 
having  command  of  the  barque  Florida, 
of  New  Orleans,  of  about  two  hundred 
tons  burden.  My  orders  from  my  own- 
ers were  to  take  the  Florida  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  Rio  Janeiro, 
where  we   were    to    take    in    freight    for 


16  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

the  United  States  ;  and  ^j  first  business 
was  to  secure  my  officers  and  crew. 
One  of  my  owners  was  now  at  Valpa- 
raiso, and  would  accompany  me  on  the 
voyage. 

To  a  sea-faring  man  like  myself,  such 
a  voyage  was  no  new  thing,  and  I 
looked  forward  with  some  interest,  but 
with  no  excitement,  to  the  prospect  of 
many  days'  tiresome  battling  with  the 
wind  and  waves,  to  the  annoyances  of 
clearing,  and  to  the  perils  and  labors 
of  a  tedious  navigation  through  the 
Straits.  Had  I  known  what  perils  and 
sufferings  awaited  me,  with  what  different 
feelings  should  I  have  left  the  beautiful 
city  where  I  had  received  much  kind- 
ness and  hospitality,  and  trusted  myself 
to  the  treacherous  elements,  and  to  men 
far  more  treacherous  than  they !  But, 
happily,  Providence  has  given   to  us  6\\\y 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  17 

a  knowledge  of  the  present,  and  the 
blessing  of  hope  for  the  future,  without 
any   foreshadowing   of    coming   evil. 

The  barque  Florida  was  a  long,  low, 
straight-built  vessel,  and  a  fast  sailer. 
She  had  been  employed  formerly  in  sail- 
ing between  Panama  and  San  Francisco, 
conveying  passengers  to  and  fro,  and 
was  well  fitted  up  for  that  purpose,  with 
a  large  cabin,  extending  as  far  forward 
as  her  mainmast,  and  fourteen  well  fur- 
nished state  rooms.  She  was  also 
furnished  with  four  brass  cannon,  four 
pounders,  and  one  iron  swivel  mounted 
forward.  Her  owners  were  Capt.  John 
Lovett,  of  Beverly,  Mass.,  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Benjamin  G.  Shaw  ;  Mr. 
Shaw  being  the  principal  owner.  On 
board  of  her  were  Mr.  Shaw,  the  owner, 
and    one    cabin     passenger,     Mr.    Raraon 

Biiela,   belonging   to   New   Orlean'^ 

2* 


18  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

The  vessel  having  at  that  time  no 
cargo,  we  were  applied  to  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  Chili,  to  convey  certain 
State  prisoners,  charged  with  political 
offences,  to  the  penal  colony  established 
by  that  government  at  Sandy  Bay,  Straits 
of  Magellan.  This  was  at  the  time  when 
the  Chilians,  disaffected  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Santiago,  had  risen,  under 
General  Cruz,  and  had  seized  the  Prov- 
ince of  Conception  ;  and  the  political 
offenders  whom  we  were  to  convey  to 
Sandy  i?d,y,  were,  some  of  them,  impli- 
cated  in   that   rebellion. 

After  some  consideration,  Mr.  Shaw 
determined  to  accept  the  offer  of  the 
government,  and  to  allow  it  to  charter 
the  Florida  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
prisoners  to  Sandy  Bay,  where  wc  were 
to  leave  them,  and  proceed  on  our 
voyage.      The    authorities    were    to    seno 


0 

CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      19 

with  the  prisoners  a  sufficient  number  of 
troops  to  secure  us  against '  any  dis- 
turbance during  the  voyage,  and  accor- 
dingly, Captain  Pedro  Avalos,  with  a 
corporal  and  twelve  soldiers  were  drafted 
on   that   service. 

On  the  morning  of  October  30,  I  took 
command  of  the  vessel,  with  the  in- 
tention of  getting  her  ready  for  sea  the 
same  evening,  that  I  might  be  prepared 
to  receive  the  prisoners,  who  were  to  be 
sent  on  board  of  her  the  same  night. 
By  hard  work  on  my  part,  and  plenty 
of  pushing  up  my  men,  we  were  all 
ready  by  night,  and  at  eleven  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  the  prisoners  began  to  come  on 
board. 

Hard  featured,  desperate  looking  men, 
some  of  them  were,  with  the  downcast, 
heavy  look  of  criminals.  Men  were 
among  them  who   had  set  law  at  defiance, 


20  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

■whose  hands  liad  been  against  every  . 
man,  and  in  whose  hearts  the  kindly 
affections  had  long  been  deadened;  and 
I  felt  as  I  looked  at  their  countenances, 
made,  perhaps,  more  repulsive  to  me  by 
the  dark,  foreign  cast  of  features  which 
my  early  education  and  prejudices  had 
taught  me  to  associate  with  men  of 
desperate  fortunes,  that  there  was  no 
rasy  task  before  me.  There  were,  how- 
ever, among  them  men  of  high  rank, 
who,  for  having  joined  in  one  of  those 
political  struggles  which  so  constantly 
shake  the  South  American  Republics, 
were  now  condemned  to  a  long  impris- 
onment on  the  savage  shores  of  Pata- 
gonia, in  the  society  of  convicts  and 
felons  of  the  worst  kind  ;  some  sen- 
tenced for  a  tedious  term  of  three  years, 
some  doomed  to  a  life-long  imprisonment. 
On   the   evening    of    Sunday,   November 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  21 

3d,  1  received  a  notice  from  Commodore 
R.  Simpson,  acting  Intendente  of  Val- 
paraiso, by  the  captain  of  the  port,  that 
all  the  prisoners  were  now  on  board, 
the  notice  being  accompanied  by  an 
order  for  me  to  proceed  to  sea  at  once, 
without  any  further  communication  with 
the  shore.  The  Intendente  evidently 
feared  the  escape  of  some  of  our  pris- 
oners, or  perhaps  some  communication  be- 
tween them  and  their  political  associates, 
The  evening  being  calm,  the  sea  breeze 
having  died  away,  and  no  appearance  of 
the  land  breeze  springing  up,  I  asked 
the  captain  of  the  port,  to  whom  the 
regulation  of  all  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor  belongs,  for  the  assistance  of  two 
boats  from  the  Chilian  man-of-war  which 
was  lying  in  the  harbor  at  the  time,  to 
tow  my  vessel  out  to  sea.  They  were 
sent,   and  assisted   us  till   midnight,  when 


22  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

a    land    breeze     springing    up,   they    left 
us,  and   returned  to   the   harbor. 

I  had  made  every  preparation  to  in- 
sure order  and  security  during  the 
voyage,  had  mounted  two  of  the  four 
pounders  upon  the  poop  deck,  pointing 
forward  so  as  to  rake  the  whole  deck, 
and  kept  them  constantly  loaded.  The 
prisoners,  about  eighty  in  number,  were 
put  into  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  and 
were  only  allowed  to  come  on  deck  for 
air  and  refreshment,  in  small  detach- 
ments. A  sentinel  was  stationed  at  the 
gangway,  and  the  deck  was  constantly 
guarded  by  seven  soldiers  and  half  my 
crew.  The  crew  consisted  of  eight  men 
before  the  mast,  part  Americaii^,  and 
part  foreigners,  first  and  second  mate, 
cook,  and  cabin  boy.  Mr.  Shaw,  Captain 
Avalos,  Mr.  Buela,  the  first  and  r,econd 
mates,  and   myself  shared   the   cabin. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      2H 

The  wind  continued  light  until  the 
afternoon  of  Monday,  the  4th,  when  a 
fresh  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  south- 
west, right  ahead  :  which  head  wind 
and  rough  sea  continued  through  the 
first  part  of  our  voyage.  Our  little 
vessel  was  a  fast  sailer,  but  with  these 
obstacles  in  our  way,  we  made  but  slow 
progress,  and  our  passengers  began  to 
feel  the  tediousness  of  a  sea  voyage. 
For  my  part,  my  responsibility  was  too 
heavy,  and  my  avocations  somewhat  too 
numerous,  for  time  to  hang  heavily  upon 
my  hands,  for  my  officers  were  neither 
very  efficient  or  entirely  to  be  depended 
upon. 

My  anxieties  and  responsibilities  were 
increased  when  we  were  some  days  out, 
by  the  >:iickness  of  Mr.  Shaw,  who  was 
seized  with  a  relapse  of  the  Panama 
fever.     My    relation    to     Mr.    Shaw    was 


24  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

something  more  than  the  mere  business 
connection  between  the  owner  and  mas- 
ter of  a  vessel.  We  had  been  thrown 
together  yery  closely,  and  I  had  always 
found  him  ready  and  prompt  with  advice 
and  sympathy  in  every  difficulty  that 
might  arise,  and  most  considerate  in  &V 
business  arrangements.  "We  were  Amer- 
icans, from  the  same  State,  away  from 
our  families  and  friends,  and  bounr 
together  by  many  common  subjects  of 
interest ;  subjects  which  grow  in  im- 
portance when  men  are  far  away  from 
their  homes.  His  sickness,  where  so 
little  could  be  done  for  his  comfort, 
was  a  source  of  considerable  anxiety  to 
me,  and  deprived  me  of  almost  all  so- 
ciety, for  Captain  Avalos  talked  very 
little  English. 

"We   had   been    out    about    a    fortnight, 
when,    as     Captain    Avalos    and    myself 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  25 

wore  sitting  in  the  cabin,  we  were 
startled  by  word  being  brougl  t  from  the 
sentinel '  at  the  gangway,  that  one  of 
the  prisoners  had  informed  him  that 
there  nad  been  a  proposition  among  the 
prisoners   to   rise   and   take   the   vessel. 

I  sprang  upon  the  deck  and  called  up 
all  hands,  while  Captain  Avalos  ordered 
up  the  soldiers  who  were  not  on  duty. 
The  soldiers  were  all  under  arras,  and 
the  captain  proved  himself  soldier-like 
and  efficient  in  any  emergency  ;  for  his 
first  order  was,  that  in  case  of  any 
disturbance  among  the  prisoners,  the  first 
man  that  made  his  appearance  was  lo 
be  shot  down.  We  waited  in  some 
anxiety,  but  all  was  quiet  ;  then,  or- 
dering the  soldiers  and  the  crew  to 
remain  on  their  guard,  Captain  Avalos 
and  ni^ielf  went  to  the  gangway  and 
inquired    into    the    cause    of    the    alarm. 


26  IMPRISOXMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

It  seems  that  the  proposition  to  tako 
tlie  vessel  had  Leen  made  hy  one  of 
the  prisoners,  —  one  of  those  confined  for 
political  offences.  His  plan  had  prob- 
ably been  to  run  the  vessel  into  land, 
and  join  General  Cruz  and  the  revolu- 
tionary party  in  the  province  of  Con- 
ception ;  but  few  of  the  prisoners  were 
ready  to  join  him,  and  one  of  them  had 
found  an  opportunity  to  communicate  tho 
design   to   the   sentinel   at   the   gangway. 

We  had  no  further  difficultyj  and  I 
was  glad  that  this  little  disturbance  had 
occurred,  as  it  gave  me  confidence  in 
the  promptitude  and  courage  of  my  own 
crew,  and  in  the  presence  of  mind  and 
soldier-like   character  of    Captain  Avalos. 

On  the  morning  of  November  24th,  the 
weather  was  thick  and  foggy,  and  the 
running  became  difficult.  I  run  till 
about    eleven    o'clock,   and    then,  judging 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  27 

myself  near  the  western  entrance  of  the 
Straits,  I  hove  the  main-top-sail  aback, 
waiting  for  clear  weather,  so  that  I 
could  see  land.  At  twelve,  the  sun 
came  out,  clear  and  glorious,  and  I 
found  myself  within  ten  miles  of  the 
entrance.  Cape  Pillar  bearing  east  from 
us.  Mr.  Shaw  and  myself  congratulated 
each  other  on  being  near  the  end  of 
the  disagreeable  part  of  our  voyage,  for 
there  was  something  repugnant  to  us,  in 
the  idea  of  standing  jailors,  as  it  were, 
to  men  for  some  or  wnom  our  sym- 
pathies were  enlisted  ;  for  the  freedom 
of  our  political  institutions  makes  the 
idea  of  imprisonment  for  political  offences 
repulsive  to  an  American ;  and,  indeed, 
no  free  man  likes  to  stand  jailor  to 
another,  be  his  offences  what  they  may. 
We  were,  however,  not  so  near  our 
destination     as     we     supposed,     for     the 


28  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

weather  continued  very  mucL  against 
U3.  I  put  the  vessel  before  the  wind, 
intending  that  afternoon  to  anchor  in 
the  harbor  of  Mercy,  but  on  account  of 
the  thick,  squally  weather,  I  was  unable 
to  make  the  harbor,  and  ran  past  the 
entrance,  which  is  so  small  that  it  may 
easily  be  overlooked.  I  was  therefore 
obliged  to  run  all  night,  and  as  the 
wind  was  blowing  fresh,  and  the  weather 
thick,  I  took  ii)  sail,  and  put  her  under 
double-reefed  top-sails.  •  At  daylight  on 
the  morning  of  the  25th,  I  set  all 
sail,  and  during  the  day  we  had  a 
fine,  pleasant  breeze  from  the  westward. 
In  the  evening,  not  being  able  to  make 
a  harbor,  we  hovc-to,  for  the  night,  a 
short  distance  from  Cape  Froward,  a 
high  point  of. land  within  tlic  Straits. 
These  high  lands  1  had  learned  to  dread, 
as  from   oflf    them,  and  out   of  the  valley 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     RROWN.  20 

come  fresh,  fitful  winds,  called  by  the 
Indians  "  williwaws,"  blo'w  ing  sometimes 
with  such  violence  as  to  take  the  masts 
out  of  vessels.  These  williwaws  give 
you  no  warning,  when  your  vessel  is 
near  shore,  and  require  constant  watch- 
fulness. 

The  morning  of  the  26t]i  broke,  how- 
ever, with  a  light  breeze  from  the 
west,  under  favor  of  whiVh  I  run  along 
the  shore  until  noon,  when  the  wind 
suddenly  canted  to  the  northward,  and 
blew  so  fresh  and  hard  that  at  3,  P. 
M.,  the  main-top-sail  split,  and  wo  were 
obliged  to  reef  it.  At  six  in  the  af- 
ternoon we  were  glad  to  drop  anchor 
in  Sandy  Bay,  and  to  give  notice  of 
our  arrival  by  a  salute  of  two  guns, 
which    was  answered   from    the   shore. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Sandy  Bay  Cyiony — Governor  Benjamin  Numoz  Gameix  — 
lusun-ection  of  Cambiaso  —  Forged  Message  from  the  Gov- 
ernor—  Landing  of  Captain  Avalos  —  Escape  of  Governor 
Gamero  —  Boat  sent  on  shore  —  Return  of  the  boat  —  Cap- 
ture of  the  Florida  —  Mr.  Shaw  and  myself  seized  —  Taken 
on  shore  —  Oiur  imprisonment  at  the  barracks  —  Privations 
—  Jlr.  Shaw  removed. 

Sandy  Bay  Colony  lies  on  the  Pata- 
gonian  side  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
on  a  level  spot  of  ground  which  slopes 
down  gently  towards  the  water  on  the 
south-east.  The  settlement  had  formerly 
been  made  at  Port  Famine,  at  a  short 
distance  to  tlie  south-west  of  tlie  prescni 
colony  ;  but  that  situation  was  found  to 
be  very  bleak,  the  site  of  tlic  buildings 
being  on  a  hill  somewhat  higher  than 
the   surrounding   country,   and   exposed  to 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  31 

the  Bweep  of  the  williwaws.  The  chauge 
had  been  made  under  the  direction  of 
Don  Benjamin  Nuraoz  Gamero,  governor 
of  the  colony,  and  the  new  site  had 
been  selected  with  great  judgment.  The 
land  proved  very  fertile,  being  well 
fitted  to  raise  all  the  crops  which  the 
short  summers  of  that  latitude  will  allow 
to  come  to  maturity ;  and  the  governor 
had  cleared  a  good  deal  of  ground 
around  the  barracks,  and  laid  out  many 
gardens,  which  were  cultivated  by  the 
convicts.  A  street  ran  in  front  of  the 
barracks,  towards  the  water,  and  on  the 
slope  of  the  shore  were  some  very  good 
houses.  These  houses  were  made  of 
boards  that  had  been  sawed  from  logs 
by  the  convicts.  They  used  hand-saws, 
and  usually  sawed  about  twelve  or  four- 
teen  boards   a   day. 

As   I   looked    towards    the    shore    from 


32  IMPRISOXMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

the  vessel,  as  the  sun  went  down,  on 
the  evening  of  the  26th,  there  was  all 
around  the  quiet  and  peace  of  early 
summer,  and  the  barracks  shone  out  with 
the  neatness  that  belongs  to  all  buildings 
for  military  purposes.  How  little  did 
I  guess  the  violence  and  mutiny  that 
were   going   on   within  ! 

There  had  been  an  insurrection  in  the 
colony  about  five  days  before,  headed  by 
one  Cambiaso,  second  lieutenant  of  the 
troops  stationed  there;  who,  as  I  learned 
afterwards,  had  committed  some  ofifence 
and  been  imprisoned  a  short  time  before 
by  the  order  of  the  governor.  At  h^ 
liberation,  he  had  declared  that  he  would 
have  his  revenge,  and  I  have  some 
reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  instigated 
10  seize  the  place  by  some  of  the  po- 
litical offenders  confined  there,  who  were 
adherents  of  General  Cruz,   and  who  still 


CAPT.     CHAKLES     H.     BROWN,  33 

held  some  communication  with  the  roYO- 
lutionists  in  the  province  of  Conception. 
Cambiaso  had  been  joined  by  most  of 
the  convicts  and  prisoners.  This  attack 
on  the  troops  had  been  successful,  but 
the  governor,  priest,  some  soldiers,  and 
one  woman,  a  wife  of  one  of  the  sol- 
diers, had  escaped  outside  of  the  fort, 
and  were  then  hiding  in  the  woods. 
Cambiaso  was  in  possession  of  the  fort 
when  wa  anchored  in  the  bay,  but  of 
this,   of    course,   I   knew   nothing. 

Early  in  the  evening,  indeed  as  soon 
as  it  was  dark,  a  boat  put  off  from 
shore  and  came  alongside,  with  five  men 
in  her,  bearing  a  letter  imrporting  to 
be  from  the  governor  of  the  colony, 
and  signed  Numoz  Gamero,  desiring  me 
to  keep  the  prisoners  on  board  until 
the  next  day,  when  I  should  receive 
assistance  from  the  shore,  in  landing  them. 


34  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

I  showed  the  letter  to  captain  Avalos, 
who,  tired  of  his  confinement  on  ship 
board,  determined  to  go  on  shore  for 
the  night,  taking  with  him  some  twelve 
prisoners  in  the  boat  which  had  been 
sent  from  the  land,  and  leaving  the  re- 
mainder of  the  prisoners  and  the  troops 
under   my   charge. 

About  twelve  at  night,  I  was  aroused 
by  the  firing  of  cannon  from  the  shore, 
and  I  sprung  upon  deck,  but  I  found 
all  quiet  in  the  vessel.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments, however,  the  watch  gave  the 
alarm  that  a  boat  was  coming  near  us, 
and  crying  for  assistance  The  wind 
blew  so  very  fresh  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  hear  what  was  said  from  the 
boat,  (  the  voices  being  blown  away  from 
us,)  but  I  conjectured  that  the  prisonor^ 
who  were  landed  the  evening  boforc, 
and     about    whose    security    I    hcd    some 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  35 

doubts,  had  made  their  escape  from 
captain  Avalos,  and  had  probably  stolen 
a  boat  and  were  trying  to  get  on  board, 
where,  with  the  assistance  of  the  other 
prisoners,  they  could  seize  the  vessel 
and  make  their  escape.  I  immediately 
ordered  a  gun  to  be  fired  in  answer  to 
those  from  the  shore,  to  show  that  we 
were  on  the  lookout,  and  then  had  the 
larboard  quarter  boat  lowered  away  and 
sent  her  out  with  five  men,  armed  with 
cutlasses,  wath  orders  to  seize  the  shore 
boat. 

After  being  gone  for  a  whole  hour, 
they  returned,  saying  that  they  had  not 
been  able  to  find  her.  Soon  after,  the 
noise  of  firing  from  the  shore  ceased. 
In  the  boat  were  the  governor,  priest, 
some  soldiers,  and  a  woman,  who  had 
escaped  from  the  barracks,  and,  seizing 
a  boat,  had   put    off,   in    hopes    to   reach 


36  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

me   and   warn   me   of    the  insurrection  on 
shore.       Having    but    one    oar,    however, 
dnd   the    wind    blowing    very    fresh,   they 
were    unable     to     make    the    vessel,    but 
drifted    across   the   Straits   and   attempted 
to   land   on    the    Terra    del    Fuego    side. 
As    soon    as    captain.    Avalos     reached 
the  barracks,  he    was    seized,   his    papers 
taken  from  him,  *^he  prisoners  who  landed 
with  him   set  at   liberty,   and  himself  put 
into     double     irons     and     thrust     into     a 
calaboose,   as   the  buildings  fo''   confining 
the     soldiers    are     called.       During     tlie 
evening,     he     could     hear    the     prisoners 
whom   he  had  brought  on    shore,  in    the 
full  enjoyment   of    a   drunken   frolic.     Ho 
told   mc   afterwards   that    no   answer   was 
made   to   his    inquiries   as    to   the    reason 
of    his     seizure,     but     that     he     obtained 
some    idea  of    what    was    the  real    state 
of    the   colony,   by   overhearing    tlic    con- 


CAPT,     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  Si 

versation  of  the  drunken  prisoners.  Late 
in  the  evening,  the  door  of  the  cala- 
boose was  opened,  and  five  men,  double 
ironed,  were  thrust  into  the  room. 
These,  he  found,  were  the  Secretary  of 
the  colony,  a  Brazilian  by  birth,  the 
captain  and  first  lieutenant  of  the  troops 
of  the  colony,  the  apothecary,  and  gov- 
ernor's  steward. 

The  escape  of  governor  Gamero  had 
been  discovered  by  Cambiaso,  and  these 
men  were  thrust  into  the  calaboose  with 
captain  Avalos,  a  guard  of  eighteen  men 
stationed  on  the  outside,  with  lic^lr;ed 
torches  in  their  hands,  and  with  oidors 
to  set  fire  to  the  four  corners  of  the 
building,  and  burn  them  alive,  in  case 
the  Florida  made  her  escape  during  the 
night.  But  the  morning  came,  and  the 
Florida,  fortunately  for  them  if  not  for 
us,   was    still    at   anchor.      It    would    be 


38  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESC^\PE    OF 

inquiring  somewhat  too  curiously  of  weak 
human  nature,  to  ask  if  the  prisoners 
felt  any  thing  but  joy  at  hearing  of 
our  fatal  security.  Captain  Avalos  and 
Mr.  Dunn  ( the  secretary )  told  me  after- 
wards, that  during  the  night  their  guards 
wove  cursing  their  tiresome  watch,  and 
wondering  why  Cambiaso  did  not  shoot 
them  at  once,  or  burn  them,  without 
'vraiting  to  know  the  result  of  the  gov- 
ernoi's  escape.  But  Cambiaso  was  not 
so  daring  a  villain  as  not  always  to 
remember  the  possibility  of  the  re-taKlng 
of   the  fort. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  27th,  I 
sent  my  boat  on  shore,  with  the  first 
mate,  Mr.  Buela,  the  passenger,  (he  un- 
derstanding Spanish, )  three  seamen,  and 
one  soldier,  with  orders  to  bring  off 
captain  Avalos,  and  to  obtain  from  the 
governor  orders  with  regard   to  the  land- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  39 

ing  of  the  rest  of  the  prisoners.  These 
also  were  seized  the  moment  they  arrived 
at  the  barracks,  and  thrust  into  a  little 
building   about   six   feet   square. 

The  firing  and  disturbance  during  the 
night  had  roused  some  sense  of  uneasi- 
ness in  my  mind,  lest  all  should  not  be 
right  on  shore ;  and  early  in  the  morn- 
ing I  had  gone  into  the  cabin  to  consult 
with  Mr,  Shaw.  He  was  then  quite 
unwell,  and  most  anxious  to  reach  the 
shore,  where  he  supposed  he  would  be 
able  to  obtain  medical  advice ;  while  I 
hoped  to  land  all  the  prisoners  during 
the  day,  and  be  able  to  proceed  that 
afternoon   on   our   way   to   Rio   Janeiro. 

We  waited  very  anxiously,  therefore, 
for  the  return  of  the  boat,  and  at  about 
nine  o'clock  she  came  alongside,  but  to 
my  surprise,  manned  with  six  or  seven 
men   dressed   as  officers,   who    handed   me 


40  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

a  letter  purporting  to  be  from  governor 
Gamero,  stating  that  my  men  were  drunk, 
and  not  able  to  row  the  boat  back  to 
the  ship.  The  letter  also  requested  me 
to  commence  landing  the  prisoners.  All 
this  seemed  to  me  very  singular.  I  had 
never  seen  any  disposition  to  drunken- 
ness among  my  crew,  and  even  if  the 
seamen  had  been  incapable  of  returning 
in  the  boat,  the  first  mate  and  captain 
Avalos  would  have  been  on  board  of 
her.  I  went  into  the  cabin,  and,  holding 
out  the  letter  to  Mr.  Shaw,  said  "De- 
pend upon  it,  there  is  something  wrong 
here.      My  men    arc    not    drunk,   and    if 

they    are,   where    arc    Mr.   P n   and 

captain  Avalos?"  While  I  was  speaking, 
a  voice  was  heard  on  deck,  the  cabin 
door  was  burst  open,  and  four  of  the 
officers  rushed  in,  two  of  them  with 
vAAwu     awordfl.       Mr.     Shaw,     who     was 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      41 

sitting  down,  was  seized  at  once.  One 
of  the  officers  struck  at  me  with  his 
sword,  but  his  arm  was  caught  by  one 
of  the  prisoners,  who  rushed  between 
us.  In  a  few  minutes  I  was  secured, 
in  spite  of  my  struggles,  and  we  were 
told  that  we  were  prisoners.  I  asked  to 
whom,  and  by  whose  authority  we  were 
taken,  but  to  this  I  received  no  answer. 
We  were  carried  on  deck,  and  I  found 
that  the  prisoners  had  been  freed.  The 
struggle  with  the  troops  and  the  crew 
was  still  going  on,  but  as  the  prisoners 
rushed  up  from  the  aold,  it  became 
every  moment  more  unequal.  The  pris- 
oners being  unarmed,  wrested  die  guns 
from  the  hands  of  the  soldiers,  and 
overpowered  them  by  force  of  numbers. 
As  I  came  on  deck,  the  corporal  called 
out  that  he  would  not  give  up  his  gun 
unless    1    ordered    him    to,   for    it   seems 


i2  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

the  guns  had  at  first  been  demanded  of 
the  soldiers  by  the  officers  who  came 
from  the  shore,  and  in  the  confusion 
some  of  them  had  given  them  up.  As 
the  corporal  called  to  me,  three  of  the 
officers  threw  themselves  upon  him,  and 
after  a  long  struggle  he  was  disarmed, 
and  put  in  irons.  The  whole  attack 
was  so  unexpected,  the  rush  of  the 
prisoners  from  the  hold  so  overwhelming, 
and  the  confusion  so  great,  that  I  do 
not  wonder  that  the  soldiers  and  crew 
were   overpowered. 

Preparations  were  soon  made  for  send- 
ing Mr.  Shaw  and  myself  on  shore,  and 
a  sufficient  guard  w-as  detached  to  ac- 
company us  in  the  boat.  While  rowing 
to  the  sliore,  our  captors  were  contin- 
ually firing  off  their  muskets,  with  shouts 
of    "  Viva    la    Cruz ! "      These    cries    gave 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      43 

happened  in  the  colony,  for  they  were 
the  same  which  had  met  my  ear  during 
the  insurrection,  ( previous  to  my  leaving 
Valparaiso, )  of  which  struggle  I  had 
been  a  witness.  On  leaving,  we  were 
met  by  several  soldiers  on  foot  and 
horseback,  one  of  whom  seemed  to  be 
of  some  authority.  This  was  Garcia, 
one  of  the  officers  in  the  service  of  the 
governor,  Gamero,  who  had  joined  Cam- 
biaso  in  his  revolt,  being  compelled  to 
do  so,  as  he  afterwards  pleaded,  by 
fear  of  his  life.  However  that  may  be, 
I  certainly  found  him  much  more  gentle 
and  humane  in  his  actions  and  ex- 
pressions than  Cambiaso,  and  was  in- 
debted to  him  for  several  kindnesses. 
From  him  I  gained  ^he  first  idea  of 
what   had  occurred  in   the  colony. 

As   we    left    the    boat,    I    noticed    Mr. 
Shaw's      extreme     weakness,     and      feared 


44  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

tha^r  if  we  were  to  be  taken  far  from 
the  shore,  he  would  not  be  able  to 
stand  the  fatigue.  I  therefore  appealed 
to  general  Garcia,  as  I  afterwards 
learned  to  call  him,  and,  calling  his  at- 
tention to  Mr.  'thaw's  state  of  health, 
asked  him  if  some  arrangement  could 
not  be  made  bj  which  he  could  ride. 
Garcia  ordered  one  of  his  soldiers  to 
dismount,  and  Mr.  Shaw  took  his  place. 
We  were  taken  up  the  slope  from  the 
water,  towards  the  barracks,  and  passing 
by  the  platform,  under  the  mouths  of 
the  cannon  which  were  mounted  upon  it, 
entered  the  great  gate  of  the  fortifi- 
cation. As  I  looked  around,  military- 
preparations  met  my  eye  on  every  side, 
bMt  there  Avas  none  of  the  order  of  a 
regular  garrison  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
shouts  of  drvmken  rioters,  the  quarrelling 
nnd    swearing   of  the    soldiers,    the    shrill 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      45 

Bcreams  of  the  women  which  struck  my 
ear,  gave  me  a  tolerably  correct  idea 
of  the  sort  of  people  into  whose  hands 
we  had  fallen.  Conspicuous  among  them 
all,  was  their  leader,  Cambiaso,  who  cast 
contemptuous  glances  upon  us  as  we 
passed,  and  who  might  be  heard  giving 
his  orders,  mixed  with  oaths  and  threats 
of  punishment  and  death  to  those  who 
did  not  obey  him  implicitly.  He  let  us 
pass  on,  however,  without  addressing  us, 
and  it  was  only  from  his  officer's  dress 
and  authoritative  manner  that  we  were 
able   to   guess   at  his   rank. 

Very  little  time,  however,  was  given 
us  for  observation  ;  for  we  were  hurried 
across  the  open  space,  and  thrust  into 
one  of  the  largest  buildings  used  as 
barracks.  My  crew,  the  remainder  of 
whom  were  brought  away  from  the  vessel 
at   the    same    time    with    Mr.   Shaw    and 


46  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

myself,  were  put  into  one  of  the  smallest 
of  the  barracks,  where  they,  with  Mr. 
Buela,  were  confined  in  a  room  about 
six  feet  square,  which  was  so  crowded 
that  they  were  obliged  to  take  turns  in 
lying  down  to  rest.  Mr.  Shaw  and 
myself  were  at  first  put  into  the  same 
apartment,  but  we  were  not  allowed  to 
speak  to  each  other ;  several  soldiers 
standing  guard  over  us  the  whole  time. 
In  about  two  hours,  however,  I  was 
taken  from  this  room,  and  put  into  a 
smaller  one  adjoining  it.  The  apartment 
into  which  both  Mr.  Shaw's  room  and 
mine  opened,  was  occupied  by  our  guard, 
who  ate  and  slept  there,  and  who  for- 
bade  all   intercourse   between   us. 

I  looked  around  the  room,  wliich  I 
felt  would  be  my  i)rison  until  I  was  led 
out  to  dcatli,  for  T  knew  now  into  what, 
liands    wo    had    fallen  ;    and,   on    my    way 


CAPT.     CHARLES      H.     BROWN.  47 

ap  from  tlie  shore  to  tlie  barracks,  had 
been  threatened  with  death  if  I  did  not 
at  once  inform  them  what  treasure  I 
had  on  board  the  Florida ;  and  on  my 
saying  there  was  none,  one  of  the 
ofl&cers  said  "he  would  soon  find  a  way 
to   make   me   fip'd   some." 

The  room  wsls  without  a  floor,  with 
a  board  nailed  to  the  wall,  looking  like 
a  shelf,  but  serving  for  a  seat ;  the. 
table  was  a  board,  supported  by  sticks 
driven  into  the  ground  ;  and  these,  with 
my  mattrass,  formed  the  furniture.  I 
had  with  me  a  small  pocket  looking 
glass  about  the  size  of  my  hand,  and 
the  miniatures  of  ray  wife  and  children, 
which  I  managed  to  hide  within  my 
shirt  bosom.  I  had  also  in  my  pocket 
a  pencil  and  a  small  piece  of  paper, 
which  I  used  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
mv  dates.      My    guards,   however,   always 


48  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

came  and  watched  me  when  they  saw 
me  writing,  and  at  last  told  me  I  must 
desist,  as  some  harm  might  come  of  it. 
After  this,  I  put  down  my  dates  when 
I  was  unobserved.  This  was  not  often. 
For  the  next  two  days  I  was  near 
starving,  nothing  being  given  me  to  eat, 
except  two  ship  biscuit,  or  "  hard  bread," 
as  we  sailors  call  them ;  and  my  only 
drink  was  the  water  which  I  helped 
myself  to   from   the   guard   room. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  two  days 
after  our  capture,  I  was  taken  out  by 
my  guard,  for  a  walk  around  the  yard 
and  on  the  platform  which  ran  along 
the  west  side  of  the  fort,  and  on  which 
the  cannon  were  mounted.  I  made  the 
best  use  of  my  eyes  and  ears  during 
my  walk,  and  managed  to  speak  to  one 
or  two  of  the  prisoners  who  had  been 
on   the    Florida    with    me.   and    whom    T 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      49 

had  made  some  acquaintance  with  during 
the  voyage.  It  was  by  these  prisoners 
that  I  was  afterwards  kept  informed  of 
what  occurred  outside  of  my  prison. 
They  would  talk  to  me  during  my  walks, 
and  sometimes  would  come  to  my  win- 
dow and  tell  me  what  had  occurred ; 
sometimes  in  bravado ;  and  with  great 
exultation,  and  sometimes  with  expressions 
of    sympathy. 

On  returning  from  my  walk,  I  met 
Mr.  Shaw,  leaving  his  room  with  his 
guard  by  his  side  ;  taken  out,  I  sup- 
posed, for  a  similar  purpose.  I  saw  he 
was  not  looking  well,  and  spoke  to  him, 
saying,  "  how  do  you  feel  this  morning  ?  " 
His  answer  was,  "  pretty  miserable ; " 
and  he  seemed  about  to  say  something 
more,  but  my  guard  pushed  between  us, 
saying,    with    an    oatJi,    "  We    can't   have 

any   talking,   captain ;    we    have   the  geu- 
5 


50        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

eral's  orders  against  it."  I  was  hurried 
into  my  room,  and  Mr.  Shaw  led  away. 
This  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  him  ; 
for,  for  some  reason  which  I  never 
could  learn,  he  was  not  brought  back 
to  the  barracks,  but  confined  in  a 
building  outside  the  fortification.  It 
seemed  to  me,  that  with  the  sense  of 
his  nearness  to  me,  I  had  lost  my  last 
friend ;  so  lonely  and  miserable  did  I 
feel  when  he  had  left- 


CHAPTER    III. 

My  prison  —  My  guards  —  An  English  hymn  book  —  A  fellow 
prisoner — Capture  of  the  Eliza  Cornish — Fears  of  the 
English  mate  — Death  of  Mr.  Shaw  — Of  Captain  Talbot 
and  boy — Barbarity  of  tlieir  execution  —  The  Chilian  pris- 
oners sympathize  with  us  —  Cambiaso's  bravado — Captain 
Avalos  and  others  led  out  to  view  the  dead  bodies  — 
Treacherous  betrayal  of  Governor  Gamero  —  Execution 
of  the  traitor  —  My  walk. 

I  now  began  to  feel  for  a  few  days, 
,8ome  of  the  monotony  of  a  prisoner's 
life.  Shut  up  alone,  without  occupation, 
within  hearing  of  the  riotous  conver- 
sation of  my  guard,  but  forbidden  to 
speak  to  them,  with  hard  fare,  and  no 
arrangements  for  my  personal  comfort  or 
even  cleanliness,  except  when  I  could 
take  water  enough  from  the  guard  room 


52  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

to    wash  mj  face,  using  mj  pocket  hand- 
kerchief    for  a  towel. 

Three  or  four  days  had  passed,  and 
I  had  lost  the  fear  of  immediate  death, 
but  my  suspense  and  anxiety  to  know 
what  Cambiaso's  intentions  with  regard 
to  us  were,  were  very  great.  There 
seemed  to  me  no  motive  that  he  could 
have  for  keeping  us  prisoners,  after  he 
had  satisfied  liimself  that  we  had  no 
treasure  on  board  the  Florida,  except 
the  fear  that  we  would  carry  the  news 
of  his  revolt  back  to  Valparaiso ;  and 
that  danger  to  himself,  it  seemed  to  me, 
could  be  obviated  only  by  putting  us  to 
death.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  applied 
to  my  guards  ;  they  were  evidently 
under  orders  to  hold  no  communication 
with  me,  and  the  prisoners  wlio  visited 
me  from  time  to  time,  knew  nothing  of 
Cambiaso's  plans.     To    my    entreaties    to 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  53 

be  allowed  to  see  Mr.  Shaw,  no  answer 
was  given,  except  that  it  could  not  be 
allowed,  that  he  had  been  sick,  and  was 
now   very   unwell. 

A  few  days  after  my  imprisonment, 
an  English  book,  containing  prayers  and 
hymns,  was  handed  me  by  one  of  my 
guard,  a  man  named  Preito,  who  prob- 
ably could  make  no  use  of  it  himself. 
The  hymns  had  little  poetical  merit,  and 
probably  at  another  time  would  scarcely 
have  aroused  my  attention  ;  but  now  the 
promises  and  consolations  of  religion 
which  breathed  through  them,  the  spirit 
of  Christian  resignation  and  faith  of 
which  I  was  then  so  much  in  need,  and 
which  to  me  shone  out  in  every  part 
of  them,  were  an  unspeakable  comfort. 
The  first  hymn  to  which  I  opened,  seemed 
so  very   applicable   to    my   situation,   that 

it    impressed    itself    upon     my    memory ; 
5* 


54  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

and  I  insert  it  here,  thinking  that  it 
may  be  interesting  to  my  readers  to  see 
how  the  promises  of  Christianity  are 
the   truest  consolation   in   all   trials. 

To  my  complaint,   0  Lord,  my  God, 

Thy  gracious   ear  incline  ; 
Hear  me,  distressed  and  destitute 

Of  all  relief  but  thine. 

Do  thou,   0  God,  preserve  my  soul 

That  does  thy  name  adore  ; 
Thy  servant  keep,  and  him  whose  trust 

Relies  on  thee,  restore. 

To  me,  who  daily  thee  invoke. 

Thy  mercy.  Lord,  extend  ; 
Refresh  thy  servant's  soul,  whose  hopes 

On  thee  alone  depend. 

To  my  repeated,  humble  prayer, 

0  Lord,  attentive  be  ; 
When  troubled,  I  on  thee  will  call, 

For  thou  wilt  answer  me. 

Some  few.  days  after  Mr.  Shaw's  re- 
moval from  the  barracks,  one  evening, 
the   exact  date   of   which  has  escaped  me 


\ 


CAPT.     CHARLES    H.     BROWN.  55 

entirely,  I  was  aroused  by  a  great  con- 
fusion in  the  fort,  a  noise  of  shouting, 
and,  apparently,  of  rejoicing.  While  I 
was  standing  at  my  window,  trying  to 
discover  the  meaning  of  the  uproar,  my 
prison  door  was  opened,  and  a  man  put 
in.  He  was  in  sailor's  dress,  was  ap- 
parently an  American,  and  looked  ter- 
rified  and  bewildered. 

I  accosted  him  immediately,  in  English 
—  asked  who  he  was,  saying  that  he 
was  probably  a  prisoner,  like  myself. 
The  guards  in  the  next  room  were  in 
such  a  state  of  excitement  that  they 
allowed   us   to  converse   unchecked. 

He  told  me  that  he  was  the  mate  of 
an  English  brig,  the  Eliza  Cornish,  of 
Liverpool,  bound  from  Valparaiso  to 
Liverpool ;  that  the  vessel  had  anchored 
in  Sandy  Bay,  intending  to  lay  over  for 
the  night ;   that  the  captain,  Capt.  Talbot, 


56  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE   OF 

of  Liverpool,  had  landed  in  the  brig's 
boat,  with  a  boy,  a  son  of  his  owner, 
who  was  passenger  on  board,  and  one 
or  two  seamen  ;  that  they  had  been 
seized  and  put  in  irons  the  moment 
they  were  out  of  sight  of  the  brig. 
The  boat  was  then  sent  back  to  the 
vessel,  with  five  or  six  men  in  her,  who 
came  on  board  and  told  the  mate  that 
the  captain  wanted  him  to  come  on 
shore  ;  but  that  while  he  was  hesitating 
what  to  do,  they,  seeing  the  small  num- 
ber of  the  crew,  attacked  and  over- 
powered them,  and  took  possession  of 
the  brig.  They  then  demanded  of  him 
whatever  money  was  on  board,  threat- 
ening him  with  instant  death  if  he  did 
not  give  it  up  at  once.  The  brig  had 
on  board  about  ninety  or  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  in  bars  of  gold  and 
silver,    which    they    seized    and    brought 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  57 

on  shore,  together  with  the  mate  and 
crew.  Some  of  the  bars  of  gold  were 
cut  up  before  his  eyes,  and  distributed 
around  among  the  soldiers ;  and  their 
exultation  at  the  sight  of  their  booty- 
had  raised  the  general  shout  which  I 
had  heard.  This  man  was  -kept  in  my 
room  during  all  the  rest  of  our  impris- 
onment. He  was  a  well  meaning  fellow, 
but  evidently  not  much  accustomed  to 
depend  upon  himself,  and  very  much 
intimidated  by  the  dread  of  approaching 
death,  by  these  rebels.  I  constantly 
found  it  necessary  to  encourage  him, 
and  prevail  upon  him  to  show  a  bold 
face  before  our  captors,  were  it  only  to 
command  their  respect.  For  myself,  I 
was  not  really  much  afraid  of  them.  I 
was  afraid  of  dying,  for  my  danger 
made  me  realize  how  unfit  I  was  for 
another   world ;    and   my    dread  of    death 


58  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

was   such   as   a  man    might    have   during 
a   dangerous  illness. 

At  midnight,  on  December  2d,  I  was 
aroused  from  my  sleep  by  the  report  of 
muskets,  of  which  they  seemed  to  me  to 
number  about  ten  or  twelve.  A  short 
time  afterwards  there  was  another  report, 
and  our  guards  began  to  run  out  of 
the  next  room.  The  whole  encampment 
seemed  in  great  confusion,  and  I  became 
alarmed,  thinking  some  of  our  compan- 
ions had  been  shot,  and  that  our  turn 
was  coming  next.  I  dared  not  ask 
any  questions  of  the  guard,  some  of 
whom  I  saw  looking  through  the  door 
of  our  room,  which  always  stood  open 
at  night.  The  mate  of  the  E.  Cornish 
sj)oke  to  mc,  and  said,  "That  is  foul 
play,  captain  Brown  ;  something  desperate 
is  going  on.  I  am  afraid  my  captain 
and   Mr.   Shaw   are  gone   for   it."     Then, 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  59 

throwing  himself  upon  his  face,  he  began 
to    cry. 

His  manner  gave  me  a  feeling  of  impa- 
tience, and  I  answered  him  pretty  quickly 
that  I  did  not  doubt  he  was  right,  and 
that  I  supposed  our  turn  would  come 
next,  but  1  did  not  want  to  hear  the 
thing  talked  about ;  and  at  any  rate,  he 
might  as  well  show  as  bold  a  face  as 
possible,  for  the  guard  were  watching 
us,  and  listening  to  our  conversation. 
This  roused  him,  and  he  sat  up,  and 
during  the  rest  of  the  night  we  re- 
mained in  anxious  suspense.  I  believe 
I  was  too  proud  to  ask  any  questions 
of  my  guard,  nor  would  I  allow  the 
mate  to   ask   any. 

Soon  after  sunrise,  some  of  the  men 
who  had  come  down  with  mc  as  pris- 
oners, came  into  our  room  and  whis- 
pered   to    me    in    Spanish,    "Your    poor 


60  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

owner  !  i:>oor  Englisli  captain  !  poor 
English  boy !  "  I  qiiestioncd  them  closely, 
and  learned  that  Mr.  Shaw  and  captain 
Talbot,  with  the  young  passenger,  had 
been  taken  from  their  beds  just  before 
midnight,  put  in  irons,  both  hands  and 
feet,  led  out  to  a  short  distance  from 
the  barracks,  and  there  tied  to  a  tree, 
and  shot.  I  afterwards  gathered  some 
particulars  of  their  execution,  which,  for 
the  sake  of  clearness,  I  will  insert 
here. 

Mr.  Shaw  had  been  very  sick  ever 
since  we  were  seperatcd;  and  I  was  told 
that  on  the  2d  December  he  sent  to 
Cambiaso,  to  ask  if  he  might  have  some 
medical  advice.  Cambiaso's  brutal  reply 
was,  "  Pass  him  out  and  shoot  him,  for 
Ave  have  no  time  to  attend  to  the  sick  ! " 
"When  they  were  led  out,  captain  Talbot 
entreated    most    earnestly   that    the  boy's 


CAPT.     CHAELES     H.    BROWN.  61 

life  might  be  spared,  saying  that  he  had 
been  put  under  his  care  by  his  parents, 
that  he  was  a  mere  boy,  and  could  do 
no  harm  ;  but  his  prayers  were  not  even 
listened  to.  He  never  asked  once  for 
his  own  life.  The  boy  was  about 
eighteen  years  old,  a  son  of  one  of  the 
owners  of  the  E.  Cornish,  and  had 
made  the  voyage  as  a  pleasure  excursion. 
The  first  volley  killed  captain  Talbot 
and  the  young  man,  leaving  Mr.  Shaw 
standing  unharmed,  not  a  shot  having 
touched  him.  Then  a  whole  volley  was 
fired  into  him,  killing  him  instantly. 
One  of  the  soldiers  was  attracted  by 
the  glitter  of  a  diamond  ring  on  Mr. 
Shaw's  finger,  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
shot,  the  soldier  went  up  to  him,  trying 
to  remove  it  ;  but  finding  that  difficult, 
he  cut  off  the  finger  with  his  cutlass. 
This    rino:    I     afterwards     heard     of,     as 


62  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

being  seen  on  the  finger  of  one  of  the 
"women  about  the  fort,  and  on  my  return 
to  Valparaiso,  I  offered  twenty-five  dollars 
to  recover  it,  thinking  it  would  be  a 
gratification  to  Mr.  Shaw's  friends  to 
obtain  even  so  slight  a  remembrance  of 
him,  but  I  was  not  able  to  procure  it. 
The  bodies  were  afterwards  taken  down 
and  hung  by  the  neck  to  a  tree,  ex- 
posed to   all   the  passers   by. 

I  never  knew  why  Mr.  Shaw  was  shot, 
but  I  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
what  I  was  told  of  Cambiaso's  reply  to 
his  request  for  medical  advice  was  the 
truth.  It  would  have  been  too  much 
trouble  to  take  care  of  a  sick  man. 
The  same  fear  of  trouble  probably  de- 
cided the  poor  boy's  fate.  Why  captain 
Talbot  was  executed,  while  I  was  reserved, 
is  also  a  mystery  to  me.  I  never  saw 
captain   Talbot,   but    from   his    mate's    re- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      63 

marks  about  him,  I  felt  that  he  was  a 
man  of  some  spirit  and  character.  Per- 
haps his  high  spirit  led  him  to  say- 
things  that  exasperated  Cambiaso.  He 
gave  some  expression  of  this  spirit  at 
the  time  he  was  seized.  Two  officers 
( Chilians, )  were  handling  him  rather 
roughly,  when  he  indignantly  told  them 
they  need  not  look  so  surly,  and  at  the 
same  time  drew  a  dirk  knife  from  the 
waist  of  his  pantaloons.  But  it  was 
immediately   taken  from  him. 

Mr.  Shaw's  death  was  a  great  shock 
to  me,  and  is  still  a  matter  of  deep 
grief.  We  had  been  friends  for  some 
time,  and  I  had  the  highest  respect  for 
him.  He  was  indeed  a  young  man  of 
great  promise,  and  his  loss  to  his  fam- 
ily and  friends  is  one  which  cannot 
easily  be  replaced.  I  grieved  for  them, 
even    there    in    my    prison,    while    I    ex- 


64  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

pected  each  day  to  be  my  last,  and 
while  I  remembered  the  agony  of  my 
own  family,  when  the  news  of  our  sad 
fate  should  reach  them ;  and  now  that 
a  kind  Providence  has  restored  me  to 
them,  I  grieve  to  remember  him  who 
met  so  cruel  a  death  from  such  bar- 
barous hands,  on  a  desert  and  far  dis- 
tant shore. 

I  was  told  by  one  of  the  men  who 
came  into  my  cell  that  morning,  that 
the  bodies  were  to  be  left  hanging  until 
we  had  all  seen  them.  Accordingly, 
about  one  o'clock  that  afternoon,  three 
of  the  prisoners  ( I  think  they  were 
captain  Avalos,  with  the  captain  of  the 
regular  troops,  and  Mr.  Dunn, )  were 
taken  from  their  prison,  their  irons 
knocked  off,  and,  wlicn  they  were  un- 
shackled, Cambiaso  walked  up  to  them, 
and     with     much    mock    politeness    asked 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  65 

them  to  accompany  him  for  a  walk. 
They  were  in  no  situation  to  refuse, 
but  accorapanied  him  in  silence,  followed 
by  a  file  of  soldiers  as  guard.  He  led 
them  out  of  the  barracks,  toward  the 
vessels.  As  they  passed  under  the  trees 
on  which  hung  the  bodies  of  Mr.  Shaw, 
captain  Talbot,  and  the  young  lad, 
Cambiaso  pointed  to  them,  and  laugh- 
ing, said,  "  You  see  what  happens  to 
such  villains  when  they  fall  into  my 
hands ;  it  will  be  your  turn  next." 
After  compelling  them  to  pass  round 
the  tree,  so  as  to  view  the  bodies  from 
every  side,  he  conducted  them  back  to 
the  barracks  and  to  their  crowded  prison. 
The  mate  of  the  E.  Cornish  and  my- 
self spent  that  morning  in  a  state  of 
anxiety,  expecting  every  moment  to  be 
called    for  —  perhaps    to    be    led    out    to 

death,    perhaps     to    be    shown    the    dead 
6* 


66  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE   OP 

bodies  of  our  friends,  and  to  be  conscious 
that  any  emotion  we  might  show  would 
be  watched  by  eyes  that  would  interpret 
it  into  an  expression  of  unmanly  fear. 
My  feeling  was  a  sort  of  indignant 
pride ;  my  own  honor  and  the  honor 
of  my  country  seemed  to  me  to  depend 
upon  my  bearing  before  these  pirates 
and  desperate  men ;  and  I  repeatedly 
requested  the  mate,  whose  power  of  self 
control  I  began  to  doubt,  to  be  bold, 
whatever  might  happen  to  him.  I  re- 
member thinking  that  if  he  did  not,  all 
around  him  would  attribute  it  to  a 
cowardly  disposition.  Towards  three 
o'clock  we  heard  the  report  of  fire-arms, 
and  a  general  hurry  and  bustle  in  the 
yard.  At  the  report,  the  mate  sprung 
to  his  feet,  saying,  "Good  God,  captain  1 
who  has  gone  now  ? "  We  listened 
anxiously,   but   all   was   quiet    again,   and 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.      BROWN.  67 

I  ventured  to  ask  our  guard  what  the 
disturbance  was.  They  answered,  care- 
lessly, "  it  is  only  a  soldier  who  was 
shot ;  he  is  a  traitor."  In  about  two 
hours  my  guard  called  me  out,  saying 
that  the  mate  and  I  were  to  walk  in 
the  yard.  I  refused,  at  first,  telling 
them  that  I  did  not  need  a  walk,  I 
was  well  enough  as  I  was,  and  so 
forth  ;  but  one  of  the  soldiers,  with  an 
oath,  exclaimed  that  they  had  the  gen- 
eral's orders,  and  that  I  had  better 
come,  or  worse  might  happen  to  me.  I 
rose,  and  walked  out  quietly  with  the 
mate.  The  first  thing  that  struck  my 
eyes,  as  I  reached  the  door  of  the 
guard  room,  was  a  temporary  gallows, 
on  which  was  suspended  the  body  of  a 
poor  soldier.  Near  it  was  a  tree,  the 
bark  of  which  was  torn  with  bullet- 
holes,   and  the  ground  below,   which  was 


68  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

soaked  with  blood.  I  turned  sick  at 
the  sight ;  but,  summoning  up  all  my 
resolution,  I  walked  quietly  up  to  the 
body,  and  asked  who  it  was.  One  of 
my  acquaintances,  a  Chilian  prisoner 
who  came  with  us,  and  who  was  saun- 
tering around,  walked  up  to  my  side, 
and  said,  "  You  need  not  feci  pity  for 
him,  captain  Brown ;  he  was  a  traitor, 
not  worth  caring  for.  Our  general  has 
served   him   right." 

I  questioned  the  man  further,  and 
found  that  this  was  the  body  of  one  of 
the  soldiers  who  had  escaped  from  the 
barracks  with  the  governor,  and  Avho, 
worn  out  by  suffering  and  the  fear  of 
starvation,  had  appeared  at  the  gate 
that  morning,  and  delivered  himself  up, 
offering  to  give  Cambiaso  information  of 
the  governor's  hiding  place,  if  he  would 
promise  him  safety,   and  the   sum   of  five 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  C9 

hundred  dollars.  Cambiaso  promised, 
and  as  soon  as  he  had  gained  what  he 
wanted  from  him,  had  him  ironed,  and 
led  out  and  shot.  I  felt  that  he  had 
deserved  his  fate,  but  remembering  the 
proverb,  "  honor  among  thieves,"  could 
not  but  think  that  it  was  not  at  Cam- 
biaso's  hands  that  he  should  have  met 
it. 

His  story  was,  that  after  the  boat  in 
which  they  had  left  the  shore  on  the 
night  the  Florida  arrived,  had  drifted 
past  our  vessel,  and  they  had  found  it 
impossible  to  make  us  understand  what 
they  wanted,  they  drifted  on  through 
the  night,  paddling  as  well  as  they 
could  till  they  reached  the  Terra  del 
Fuego  shore,  soon  after  daylight.  There 
they  attempted  to  land,  but  were  pre- 
vented by  a  party  of  Indians,  who  fired 
on   them,   and    wounded     one   of    the   sol- 


70        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

diers.  The  weather  then  being  calm, 
they  paddled  to  the  ■westward,  and 
crossed  the  Straits  again  to  Port  Famine, 
the  former  site  of  the  colony.  There 
they  had  concealed  themselves  in  the 
bushes,  and  for  the  last  week  had  been 
living  on  nothing  but  roots,  and  were 
now  in   a   state   of    starvation. 

All  this  I  gathered  from  my  guards 
and  vi_§itors,  after  I  returned  to  my 
room  from  my  walk,  in  company  with 
the  mate,  although  we  had  never  ex- 
pected to   see   it   again. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Capture  of  the  Governor  —  His  execution  —  I  am  led  out  of 
my  prison  —  The  burning  of  the  bodies  —  Governor  Ga- 
mero's  character  —  His  intercourse  with  the  native  tribes 

—  The  Priest  Acuna  —  Arrival  of  H.  B.  M.  war  steamer 
Virago  —  Mr.  Dunn,  the  Secretaiy — Cambiaso  plans  the 
capture  of  the  steamer  —  He  fears  her  force  and  discipline 

—  The  officers  invited  on   shore  —  No   suspicions    aroused 

—  The  Virago  sets  sail. 

ft 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of 
these  executions,  Cambiaso  sent  out  two 
or  three  parties  of  soldiers,  well  armed, 
under  one  of  the  chief  officers,  and 
all  on  horseback,  with  directions  to 
take  the  governor  and  his  party,  and 
bring  them  in,  dead  or  alive.  They 
had  accurate  information  of  their  hid- 
ing   place    from    the     traitor,    and     by 


72  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

surrounding  the  Luslies,  and  gradually 
beating  in,  they  succeeded  in  capturing 
them,  and  about  sunset  brought  them  in, 
and    they   were   soon   heavily   ironed. 

I  heard  that  they  were  terribly  ema- 
ciated, and  scarcely  able  to  stand,  from 
"weakness,  having  lived  for  nearly  a  week 
on  nothing  but  roots  and  berries.  Cam- 
biaso  ordered  them  to  be  served  with 
a  good  dinner,  saying  that  they  should 
go  with  a  belly-full,  and  then  thrust 
them  into  the  calaboose,  where  captain 
Avalos  and  the  other  prisoners  were 
confined.  Captain  Avalos  told  me  after- 
wards that  neither  the  governor  or  the 
priest  showed  any  signs  of  fear,  but 
when  he  asked  them  if  they  knew  their 
fate,  they  answered  coolly,  "Oh,  yesl" 
Cambiaso  seemed  to  intend  to  surround 
this  execution  witli  all  tlic  })omp  and 
solemnity  that  he  could  command.     About 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H,     BROWN.  73 

nine,  in  the  evening,  there  was  a  general 
rush  through  the  camp.  The  bugles 
sounded  the  death  march,  the  drums 
beat,  the  soldiers  were  all  ordered  under 
arms,  and  governor  Gamero  and  the 
priest  Acuna  were  led  out  of  the  bar- 
racks. All  was  still  in  the  yard  after 
they  left,  and  in  a  short  time  I  heard 
the  report  of  their  death  shots.  They 
were  shot  under  the  same  trees  to  which 
Mr.  Shaw  and  captain  Talbot  had  been 
tied. 

In  about  an  hour  I  was  called  out  of 
my  room,  and  told  that  I  was  wanted 
in  the  yard.  I  went  out  doggedly,  for 
this  day  of  excitement  had  worn  me 
down  into  a  sort  of  indifference  as  to 
my  fate  ;  but  the  scene  that  lay  before 
me  when  I  reached  the  platform,  which, 
raised  above  the  rest  of  the  yard,  com- 
manded  a   view   of   the  land   beyond    the 


74  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

fortification,  roused  me  at  once  from  my 
indifference.  In  the  field  north  of  the 
barracks,  was  dug  a  deep  hole,  in  which 
a  large  fire  was  kindled,  which  threw 
its  red  light  on  all  around.  On  the 
trees,  to  the  right,  hung  the  dead  bodies 
of  Mr.  Shaw,  captain  Talbot,  and  the 
boy,  and  beneath  them  were  dimly  seen 
the  bleeding  corpses  of  the  governor 
and  priest.  The  rebels  were  busied 
around  the  fire  and  the  bodies,  and 
Cambiaso,  with  some  mounted  officers, 
were  to  be  seen  giving  directions.  Soon 
I  saw  a  cart  driven  up  to  the  fire,  and  a 
dead  body  thrown  from  it  into  the  flames, 
with  as  little  ceremony  as  one  would 
treat  a  dog.  One  of  my  guard  standing 
by  me,  said,  "  There  goes  the  governor." 
The  bodies  of  Mr.  Shaw,  captain  Talbot, 
and  the  poor  English  boy  were  one  by 
one  cut  down,  and    thrust  into   the  fire. 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BHOWN.  75 

The  women  of  the  camp  had  pleaded 
with  Cambiaso  to  allow  the  body  of 
the  priest  to  be  buried,  and  he,  hav- 
ing perhaps  some  feelings  of  reverence 
for  his  sacred  office,  had  allowed  it 
to  be  given  into  their  hands.  More 
fuel  was  now  heaped  on  the  flames, 
and  their  lurid  light  showed  me  a  scene 
which  makes  me  shudder  as  I  recall  it. 
The  soldiers  danced  round  the  fire, 
singing  the  national  hymn  of  Chili,  and 
mingling  with  it  shouts  and  curses,  im- 
precations on  the  governor,  and  threats 
of  vengeance  against  the  remaining  pris- 
oners ;  especially  against  captain  Salas, 
the  commander  of  the  troops  under 
Gamero,  and  against  captain  Avalos, 
whose  rank  as  an  officer  under  the 
government  of  Chili  seemed  to  be  his 
only  crime.  The  darkness  of  the  night, 
the   lurid   glare    of    the    flames,   the  fan- 


76  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

tastic  dancing  of  the  soldierS;  the  min- 
gled shouts  and  curses  that  met  my 
ear,  made  every  thing  appear  to  me  like 
some  revelry  in  hell,  where  the  souls 
of  the  damned  make  merry  over  their 
fellow  sufferers.  On  this  evening  the 
barque's  papers,  also  my  private  papers, 
were   burnt,   with   shouts   of  joy. 

I  was  kept  on  the  platform  until  the 
flames  had  died  down,  when  three  cheers 
were  given  by  the  soldiers  around  the 
fire,  and  answered  by  those  within  the 
yard ;  and  soon  after,  I  was  ordered 
back  to  my  prison,  to  endure  another 
night  of    anxiety. 

The  mate  eagerly  asked  me  what  I 
thought  was  going  to  happen  next,  but 
I  answered  him  shortly,  and  turned 
from  him,  for  I  felt  the  necessity  of 
calming    my   mind,   after   such  excitement. 

That    night    I     passed    in     close    com- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  77 

munion  with  myself,  strengthening  my 
soul  to  meet  whatever  might  be  before 
me,  and  rousing  my  energies  to  seize 
every  opportunity  to  escape  from  the 
hands  of  such  blood-thirsty  fiends.  The 
morning  found  me  calmer,  and  more  full 
of  energy  and  determination,  than  any 
moment  since  my  captivity.  If  Cam- 
biaso  ordered  me  to  be  brought  out  on 
the  platform  in  order  to  intimidate  me, 
he  did  not  know  his  man.  The  sight, 
instead  of  depressing  me,  roused  in  me 
a  spirit  of  revenge,  and  determined  me 
to  retaliate  the  wrongs  which  I  had 
seen   inflicted   on   my   friend. 

Governor  Gamero  was  a  post  captain 
in  the  Chilian  army ;  his  name,  Ben- 
jamin Numoz  Gamero.  I  afterwards 
heard  him  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  fine 
character,     and     of     excellent     judgment. 

Under     his    directions,    the    colony     had 
7* 


78  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

grown  in  prosperity  and  in  discipline. 
He  had  built  some  very  comfortable 
barracks  for  the  soldiers,  and  some  good 
houses  for  the  officers.  The  convicts 
had  been  employed  in  clearing  and  cul- 
tivating the  ground,  and  intercourse  and 
trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  country 
had  been   encouraged. 

The  native  tribes  around  the  colony 
had  always  shown  themselves  friendly  to 
the  settlement ;  and,  as  I  learnt,  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  coming  down  to 
the  barracks  about  once  a  month,  bring- 
ing with  them  game,  and  other  articles, 
which  they  were  anxious  to  exchange 
for  flour,  bread,  and  so  forth.  They 
generally  formed  themselves  on  a  line, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  barracks,  and 
tlie  governor  would  range  his  troops 
II] (Oil  the  [datform,  alcove  the  fence,  and 
put    in    their    view     the    two    cannon,    the 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      79 

noise  of  which  they  had  often  heard, 
and  of  which  they  had  a  superstitious 
dread.  The  chiefs  would  then  come 
forward  and  meet  the  governor  outside 
the  fence,  and  arrange  their  terms  of 
barter. 

Of  the  clergyman,  Acuna,  I  know  but 
little.  The  reverence  of  the  women  of 
the  colony  for  him,  certainly  speaks  in 
his   favor. 

The  morning  of  the  4th  of  December, 
while  the  mate  and  myself  were  eating 
our  scanty  allowance  of  hard  bread, 
washed  down  by  the  water  which  we 
had  taken  from  the  dirty  buckets  in  the 
guard  room,  a  shout  rose  in  the  yard, 
"  A  steamer !  a  war  steamer,  with  the 
English  flag  !  "  My  heart  leaped  to  my 
mouth,  as  I  sprung  to  my  feet,  and  the 
mate  seemed  to  gather  courage  from  the 
very   sense  of  the  vicinity   of  his  country- 


80  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

men,  and  from  liis  confidence  in  the 
protection  of  his  flag.  One  moment's 
glance  showed  me  that  even  amidst  their 
excitement,  some  of  the  guards  were 
watching  us  from  the  other  room ;  and 
managing  to  caution  the  mate  by  a 
glance,  I  endeavored  to  assume  as  natural 
an  air  as  possible,  listening  and  asking 
questions  as  if  from  mere  curiosity.  I 
gathered  from  the  guard  and  from  tlie 
idlers  round  the  camp  who  flocked  in, 
that  Cambiaso  liad  expressed  his  deter- 
mination to  attempt  to  capture  the 
steamer ;  that  the  Chilian  flag  had  been 
run  up  at  the  flag-staft",  and  a  gun  fired 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  steamer, 
and  induce  them  to  come  into  the  har- 
bor and  drop  anchor.  At  last,  she  was 
seen  to  make  for  the  harbor,  and  to  be 
evidently  making  preparations  to  anchor. 
Her  name,  they   told  me,  was  the  Virago. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      81 

During-  the  last  hour,  tlie  mate  and 
myself  had  been  forming  a  thousand 
plans  by  which  we  hoped  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  officers  or  men  of  the 
steamer,  when  they  landed,  and  warn 
them  of  their  own  danger,  •and  of  our 
situation ;  but  our  plans  were  quickly 
frustrated  ;  for  no  sooner  had  the  steamer 
come  to  anchor,  than  the  mate  and  my- 
self were  hurriedly  taken  from  our  room, 
and  led  across  the  yard  towards  a  smaller 
building.  In  vain  I  questioned  those 
who  were  leading  me,  as  to  where  I 
was  going  ;  my  only  answer  was  a 
hasty  oath,  and  an  order  to  be  quiet. 
The  door  of  the  little  calaboose  was 
opened,  and  we  were  pushed  into  a  room 
about  eight  feet  square,  and  the  bolts 
drawn  behind  us.  Before  me,  sitting  or 
lying  on  the  floor,  were  six  haggard 
looking    men,    heavily    ironed.       I    spoke 


82  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

to  them  in  Spanish,  but  was  ans"^ered 
by  one  of  them  in  good  English,  who 
said,  "  You  are  the  captain  of  the  Amer- 
ican barque  ? "  I  started  with  surprise, 
for  I  immediately  thought  him  an  Amer- 
ican ;  and  i  saw  that  he  was  a  gentle- 
man, or  something  beyond  a-  common 
sailor.  And  what  American  could  be 
confined  there,  not  belonging  to  the 
Florida  ?  Could  there  have  been  another 
vessel  captured  by  these  pirates,  of  which 
I  had  heard  nothing  ?  "  Who  arc  you  ?  " 
I  eagerly  asked  ;  "  are  you  an  American  ? 
How  came  you  in  this  wretched  place?" 
He  answered  that  his  name  was  Dunn, 
and  that  he  was  a  Brazilian,  who  had 
boon  employed  by  governor  Gamero  as 
his  secretary.  That  he  had  been  seized 
by  Cambiaso's  orders,  at  tlie  time  of 
his  insurrection,  and  confined  in  that 
filthy   den   ever   since. 


CAPT.  CHAKLES  II.  BROWN.      83 

While  he  was  speaking-,  one  of  our 
guard  knocked  on  the  door,  and  ordered 
silence,  saying  that  lie  would  shoot  down 
the  first  one  of  us  who  troubled  him 
again. 

The  next  three  hours  we  spent  in 
anxious  listening  to  what  was  going  on 
without ;  Mr.  Dunn  and  myself  now  and 
then  exchanging  a  word  in  a  whisper. 
Every  attempt  that  we  made  to  look 
from  our  little  window  was  prevented 
by  our  guard,  who  stood  closely  gath- 
ered about  both  door  and  window,  every 
now  and  then  looking  in  upon  us.  With- 
out, all  was  very  still  and  orderly  ;  no 
noisy  rioting  to  be  heard,  nothing,  save 
every  now  and  then  the  tread  of  sol- 
diers, or  the  usual  noises  attending  the 
regular  military  duty  of  a  barrack  yard. 
We  expected  every  moment  to  hear  the 
noise  of   firing,  or   some  shout  of   exulta- 


84  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

tion,  if  the  officers  of  the  Yirago  were 
entrapped  as  ^YG  had  been ;  but  all  was 
quiet. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  afternoon, 
the  English  mate  and  mj'self  were  taken 
out,  and  conducted  to  our  old  prison. 
All  was  quiet  in  the  yard,  and  as  I 
glanced  around,  I  saw  no  new  faces,  no 
change  in  the  arrangement  of  the  sol- 
diers, no  building  guarded  but  those 
which  I  had  been  accustomed  to  recog- 
nize as  prisons  for  my  crew,  the  crew 
of  the  E.  Cornish,  and  the  room  where 
captain  Avalos,  and  the  prisoners  with 
him,   were   confined. 

Arrived  at  our  old  home,  the  guard 
became  more  communicative,  and  told 
me  that  our  prison  had  been  changed 
to  keep  us  out  of  sight  of  the  English 
officers,  who  had  come  on  shore,  visited 
the  barracks,   and   the   Florida,   and    had 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  85 

left  the  harbor  without  having  their 
suspicions  excited.  This  chance  of  es- 
cape was  lost  to  us  then.  I  felt  very 
indignant  at  what  seemed  to  me  the 
unparalelled.  stupidity  of  the  officers  of 
the  Virago,  and  yet  it  is  very  possible 
that  had  their  suspicions  been  excited, 
we  might  all  have  fallen  victims  to  the 
revengeful  spirit  of  the  rebels,  before 
any  thing  could  have  been  done  for 
our   rescue. 

During  that  evening  and  the  next  day, 
1  managed  to  extract  from  my  guard 
and  from  one  or  two  of  my  fellow 
voyagers,  the  Chilian  prisoners,  who  had 
now  become  almost  regular  visitors  to 
my  room,  an  account  of  all  that  had 
occurred  during  the  visit  of  the  Yirago 
to  the   colony. 

On   the   steamer's   casting  anchor,    Cam- 

biaso   had    manifested    a  great  desire    to 
8 


86  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

capture  her ;  probably  expecting  some- 
thing of  a  prize  on  board  of  her,  and 
perhaps  wishing  to  have  in  his  hands  so 
poTrerful  a  vessel.  He  had  called  a 
meeting  of  his  officers,  to  consult  upon 
the  most  advisable  plan  to  pursue,  to 
accomplish  the  capture.  The  first  plan 
proposed,  was  that  which  had  been  so 
successful  in  our  case  and  that  of  the 
English  brig :  to  seize  the  officers  as 
they  came  on  shore,  and  kill  them  at 
once,  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  employ- 
ing men  to  guard  them ;  then  to  board 
the  steamer  and  take  her,  having  first 
enticed  aAvay  as  many  of  the  officers 
and  crew  as  possible.  The  sight  of  the 
big  guns,  which  showed  their  teeth  all 
along  the  side  of  the  steamer ;  their 
knowledge  of  the  excellent  discipline  on 
board  a  British  man-of-war  ;  of  the  ca- 
pability  of  even  tlie   smallest  midshipman 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      87 

to  take  command  of  the  crew  in  case 
of  the  absence  of  tlie  superior  officers, 
all  deterred  the  pirates  from  attempting 
this  plan   of  capture. 

The  difficulties  -in  the  way  of  the 
capture  were,  I  heard,  discussed  very 
freely ;  general  Garcia  being  most  earnest 
in  insisting  upon  them.  ,  The  chief,  or 
rather  the  jGrst  difficulty  suggested  by 
him,  was  that  the  officers  might  come 
on  shore  so  well  attended  that  a  fight 
might  be  necessary,  to  overcome  them ; 
and  that  the  noise  of  the  struggle  might 
excite  the  suspicions  of  those  on  board, 
when  the  whole  colony  would  be  at  the 
mercy  of  the  guns  of  the  Virago.  This 
plan  was  put  to  the  vote  among  the 
officers,  and  after  voting  upon  it  nine 
times,  it  was  rejected.  Once,  I  was 
told,  it  came  within  one  vote  of  being 
accepted. 


88  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

The  next  proposition  was  worthy  of 
the  blood-thirsty  wretches.  It  was  that 
such  officers  should  be  invited  to  dine 
with  Cambiaso,  he  supporting  the  char- 
acter of  governor  of  the  colony  ;  and 
that  poison  should  be  mingled  with 
some  of  the  dishes  of  which  the  officers 
were  to  partake  ;  but  this  plan  also  was 
rejected.  The  rebels  must  have  felt 
that  it  was  too  uncertain,  even  if  human 
nature  did  not  make  them  feel  some- 
thing revolting  in  it.  It  was  then  pro- 
posed that  some  of  the  officers  of  Cam- 
biaso should  be  sent  on  board  the 
steamer,  with  an  invitation  to  the  captain 
to  land,  and  that  they  should,  on  their 
return,  report  the  appearance  of  things. 
Tliis  was  agreed  to,  and  the  s})ics  were 
sent  ;  but  their  report  of  the  order  and 
discipline  on  board,  the  well  manned 
guns,    tlie     well     drilled    marines,     deter- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BKOWN.      89 

mined  Cambiaso  to  give  up  all  hopes  of 
capturing  the  vessel,  and  to  confine  him- 
self to  attempting  to  elude  suspicion. 
The  officers  of  the  Virago  landed,  and 
were  shown  through  the  fortification  and 
the  colony,  Cambiaso  attending  them. 
I  was  told  that  one  of  the  prisoners, 
Mr.  Dunn,  who  talked  both  English  and 
Spanish,  was  taken  from  his  prison,  and 
after  being  threatened  with  instant  death 
if  he  revealed  the  true  state  of  things, 
was  employed  to  interpret  for  Cambiaso  ; 
while  at  the  same  time  two  of  the  rebels 
who  had  some  knowledge  of  English, 
were  ordered  to  watch  him,  and  report 
any  thing  which  might  sound  suspicious. 
The  captain  of  the  Virago  asked  what 
vessels  those  were  lying  at  anchor. 
Cambiaso  answered  that  they  belonged 
to  him ;  remarking  that  the  brig  had 
prisoners   on  board   of  her  —  some   of  the 


90  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

convicts  whom  he  had  not  the  conve- 
niences for  keeping  in  close  confinement 
on  shore ;  and  that  as  the  vessel  was 
only  used  as  a  prison,  there  would  be 
nothing  interesting  to  them  in  going  on 
board  of  her. 

The  captain  and  officers  afterwards 
visited  the  Florida,  from  which  all  my 
crew  had  been  removed  except  the  stew- 
ard, a  negro  man,  and  on  board  which 
were  living  five  or  six  of  Cambiaso's 
followers.  How  the  English  officers  could 
be  so  blind  as  not  to  read  on  the 
stern  of  the  barque  the  name,  "  Florida, 
of  New  Orleans,"  and  on  the  brig, 
"Eliza  Cornish,  of  Liverpool,"  or  not  to 
have  their  suspicions  excited,  if  they  did 
read  those  names,  is  incomprehensible  to 
me.  It  would  seem  tliat  tlicir  own 
common  sense  would  have  told  tlicm 
that   sucli    a    colony   could   not    hold   ves- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  91 

sels  ;  or  if  it  did,  tliat  the  vessels  would 
be  Chilian  —  not  American,  or  English. 
I  was  told  that  Cambiaso  made  the 
captain  a  present  of  eighty  or  ninety 
vtons  of  coal,  of  which  the  Virago  was 
in  need  ;'  but  I  could  not  but  think 
there  must  be  some  mistake  about  this. 
The  coal  was  perhaps  bought  by  the 
Virago.  Surely,  Her  British  Majesty's 
vessels  do  not  accept  such  presents  as 
that  from  the  governor  of  a  small  penal 
colony,  on  the  shores  of  Patagonia.  So 
large  a  quantity  of  coal  would  be  a  very 
valuable  gift  in  such  a  place  as  that, 
where  all  the  fuel,  except  the  brush-wood 
from  the  scrubby  forests  around,  must  be 
brought   from   abroad. 

Cambiaso  told  the  captain,  whose  name 
I  afterwards  learnt  was  Stewart,  that 
several  of  his  prisoners  had  escaped, 
and   were  now   lurking    about  the  woods 


92  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

at  Port  Famine ;  and  if,  on  the  steamer's 
anchoring  there  to  take  in  some  of  this 
coal,  which  lay  on  the  shore,  any  of 
these  prisoners  should  wish  to  be  taken 
on  board  the  Virago,  he  wished  captain 
Stewart  to  order  his  men  to  drive 
them  away,  and  to  hold  no  communica- 
tion with  them.  Some  of  the  soldiers 
who  escaped  with  the  governor,  had,  it 
appears,  never  been  re-taken,  and  Cam- 
biaso  feared  their  report  to  the  English 
vessel. 

It  seems  to  me  another  instance  of 
stupidity  in  captain  Stewart,  that  he 
should  have  swallowed  unsuspiciously  this 
story  of  Cambiaso's.  Would  it  not  have 
been  much  more  probable  that  Cambiaso 
would  have  asked  their  assistance  in  re- 
capturing his  prisoners,  and  requested 
the  Virago  to  retain  them  until  he 
could   send   for    them  ?      I    could   not   but 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  93 

feel  tliat  all  these  tilings,  or  indeed, 
half  of  them,  would  have  been  enough 
to  have  opened  the  'eyes  of  even  a 
moderately  "  cute "  Yankee.  But  per- 
haps some  allowance  for  my  impatience 
at  the  blindness  of  the  English  officers 
is  to  be  made,  when  we  consider  how 
much  this  chance  of  escape  was  to  me, 
and   how   bitterly   I  lamented  its   loss. 

My  fellow  prisoner  and  myself  were 
sad  enough  during  the  rest  of  that  even- 
ing, as  we  heard  that  the  Virago  had 
left  Port  Famine,  and  was  now  out  of 
sight. 


CHAPTER    V. 

We  are  better  treated  —  Captain  Avalos  again  —  His  px-iva- 
tions  —  The  sergeant  shot — Mr.  Buela  —  Cambiaso's  dis- 
cipline—  His  code  of  laws  —  Personal  appearance  —  His 
vanity — Threats  of  poison  —  Improved  fare  —  The  coffee 
—  The  mate  secures  the  E.  Cornish -^  Cambiaso  and 
Garcia  visit  me  —  I  go  on  board  the  Florida  —  My  steward. 

After  the  departure  of  the  steamer, 
the  severity  of  our  imprisonment  was 
very  much  relaxed.  The  prisoners  were 
allowed  to  walk  about  every  day,  ac- 
companied by  a  guard,  and  were  even 
allowed  some  connnnnication  Avith  each 
other.  I  saw  captain  Avalos  again,  and 
shook  hands  earnestly  with  him.  He 
told  mc  that  he  had  tliought  that  I  had 
been  shot  with  captain  Talbot  and  Mr. 
Shaw.      Captain    Avalos    had    been    con- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.      95 

fined  in  tlie  same  building  with  captain 
Salas,  and  with  the  first  lieutenant  of 
the  troops  under  Gamero,  of  whom  Cam- 
biaso  had  been  second  lieutenant.  He 
told  me  that  captain  Salas  had  made 
several  attempts  to  hold  communication 
with  some  of  the  soldiers  under  his 
command,  but  that  they  had  been  strictly 
watched  by  Cambiaso,  who  feared  treach- 
ery. One  morning,  before  the  execution 
of  Mr.  Shaw  and  the  governor,  a  ser- 
geant who  had  formerly  been  a  convict, 
but  had  been  promoted  for  good  con- 
duct was  detected  receiving  a  bottle  of 
brandy  from  captain  Salas,  and  was 
immediately  seized,  tried  by  a  summary 
court  martial,  and  put  to  death  as  a 
traitor,  under  the  sanguinary  code  es- 
tablished by  Cambiaso.  After  this,  the 
officers  in  confinement  had  been  more 
strictly  watched,   and    forbidden    to    hold 


96  IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

any  communication  with  the  soldiers  on 
duty. 

Mr.  Dunn,  the  secretary,  I  often  met 
in  my  walks,  and  we  generally  managed 
to  exchange  a  greeting,  and  to  convey 
some  information  to  each  other  in  Eng- 
lish, as  we  passed.  Mr.  Buela  I  also 
saw  again  at  this  time.  He  had  suffered 
much  privation,  being  confined  in  the  same 
room  of  six  feet  square  in  which  he 
was  first  put  with  my  crew,  where  they 
were  so  crowded  that  they  were  obliged 
to   stand   up    most   of  tlic   time. 

It  was  good  policy  in  me  to  cultivate 
all  friendly  relations  with  my  captors ; 
and  for  this  reason,  I  began,  at  this 
time,  to  mingle  in  their  sports,  at  least 
as  a  spectator.  In  the  evenings,  the 
men  and  women  \t^ould  often  collect 
under  a  large  tent,  and  dance  the  Fan- 
dango,  the  so  well  known  Spanish  dance. 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  97 

They  danced  it  with  handkerchiefs,  wav- 
ing them  as  each  couple  separated  and 
retired  to  the  right  and  left.  One 
evening  Cambiaso  came  up  to  me  as  I 
was  standing  by  the  tent  ropes,  and 
asked  me  to  join  the  dance.  I  had  no 
heart  to  do  this,  but  pleaded  in  excuse 
my  American  ignorance  of  the  figures. 
These  evenings  generally  ended  with  a 
feast — a   pig   or   calf    barbecued. 

One  night's  rude  and  cruel  amusement 
I  cannot  even  now  think  of  without  a 
shudder.  All  the  dogs  of  the  encamp- 
ment were  driven  into  a  circle,  and 
then  chased  with  clubs.  The  cries  of 
the  poor  frightened  animals,  the  howlings 
of  those  who  were  knocked  down,  rang 
in  my  ears  all  night  ;  and  next  morn- 
ing their  carcasses  could  be  seen  lying 
around   on   every    side. 

I   also  did   my   best,   during   my   walks, 


98  IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

to  keep  up  my  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  prisoners  I  had  brought  down  to 
the  Straits  with  me,  and  who  had  been 
allowed  their  liberty,  on  swearing  alle- 
giance to  Cambiaso.  Some  of  them  were 
very  friendly,  and  brought  me  such  in- 
formation as  they  thought  would  interest 
me.  From  them  I  learnt  much  of  the 
discipline  which  Cambiaso  had  estab- 
lished, and  of  the  sanguinary  code  of 
laws   which   he   had   drawn   up. 

Immediately  after  the  escape  of  the 
governor,  and  the  success  of  the  insur- 
rection, Cambiaso  was  proclaimed  Com- 
mandantc  by  the  rebels.  Afterwards 
his  title  was  Major  General,  and  Garcia's, 
General,  or  little  general,  as  he  was 
called  by  most  of  the  soldiers,  by  way 
of  distinction.  On  the  same  day,  by 
order  of  Cambiaso,  the  hospital,  chapel, 
with   all   the   sacred  vessels   on   the  altar. 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  99 

the  house  and  robes  of  the  priest,  were 
burnt ;  Cambiaso  declaring  that  he  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  any  religious 
rites.  A  red  flag  was  hoisted,  having 
upon  it  a  scull  and  cross-bones,  with 
the  motto,  "I  give  no  quarter;"  and 
upon  it  the  soldiers  and  released  con- 
victs all  swore  fidelity.  This  flag  I 
often  saw  raised  in  the  colony,  on 
parade  days,  during  my  imprisonment. 
I  give  below  the  code  of  laws,  a  copy 
of  which  I  afterwards  obtained  at  Val- 
paraiso. Of  its  £vtrocity  I  need  say 
nothing,   as   it  speaks   for   itself. 

MILITARY     CRIMES, 

AND     THEIR     CORRESPONDING     PUNISHMENTS. 

Article    I. 
Every   inferior    who    speaks    disrespect- 
fully    of    his    superior    officer,   shall    be 
immediately   shot. 


100      IMPKISONMENT     AND     ESCAPE     OF 

Art.    II. 

Every  inferior  wlio  should  raise  his 
hand  against  his  superior  officer,  shall 
be   immediately   hung. 

Art.    III. 
If     an     inferior     strikes     his     superior 
officers,   with   or    without    arms,   he   shall 
be  burnt  alive. 

Art.    IY. 
He    who    should    be    a    traitor    to   the 
flag    we    have    sworn,    shall    be    cut    in 
pieces,   alive,   and   afterwards   burnt. 

Art.     V. 
He    who    is    guilty    of    perjury,   incurs 
the   same  punishment. 

Art.    YI. 
He   who  communicates  with  the   enemy, 
incurs   the   same   punishment. 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  101 

Art.     VII. 
He    who    speaks     against    the    service, 
incurs   the   same   punishment. 

Art.     VIII. 
Robbery.     He    who    steals    any    object, 
money,   or   any    article    whatsoever,   shall 
be   hung. 

Art.  IX. 
Want  of  Punctuality.  If  any  person 
in  the  military  service,  ( no  matter  in 
what  capacity,)  be  wanting  in  his  duty, 
and  does  not  present  himself  in  the 
place  and  at  the  hour  at  which  he  has 
been  ordered  to  appear,  he  shall  be 
tried   and  shot. 

Art.     X. 
Cowardice.     Every   man   who,   for  want 
of  courage,    flies    from    the    enemy,   shall 
be  put    to    death    by  the    bayonet ;    and 

Q* 


102        IMPBISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

his  eyes  shall  be  taken  out  to  prove 
the  fact.  The  body  of  a  coward  ghall 
be  burnt. 

Art.     XI. 

If  any  traitor  be  seized,  his  tongue 
shall  be  cut  out,  it  being  the  instru- 
ment of  his  falsehood.  He  shall  be 
burnt  witli  a  red  hot  iron,  and  he  shall 
afterwards  suffer  the  punishments  he  has 
incurred,  according  to  Articles  4th,  5th, 
and   6th. 

Art.    XII. 

Sentinels  found  asleep  at  their  posts, 
shall  be  immediately  hung ;  they  being 
the  only  persons  responsible  for  said 
port's  security.  Therefore,  tlic  sergeants 
ai'C  requested  to  visit  the  posts  every 
ten  minutes,  for  the  observation  of  tliis 
article. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     103 

Art.    XIII. 
He   who  in  battle    gives   quarter   to  an 
enemy,   out    of    pity,   or    any    other   con- 
sideration,  shall   be  immediately   shot. 

Art.     XIY. 
The   officer,    sergeant,    or    soldier    who 
is   not  vigilant  when   on  guard,   shall   be 
tried   and  shot. 

Art.    XV. 
The   infractor   of  any  of  these  laws,   if 
an  officer,  shall  be  hung  ;  if  a  soldier,  shot. 

Art.  XVI. 
All  military  persons  are  charged  with 
the  fulfilment  of  the  preceding  articles. 
This  is  particularly  recommended  to  su- 
perior officers :  and  they  are  requested 
to  inform  their  troops  that  want  of  in- 
formation on  this  head  will  not  excuse 
them  from  undergoing  the  punishments 
expressed. 


10:1        IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Art.    XVII. 

He  who  should  steal  or  hide  ( or  abet 
another  in  so  doing, )  any  powder,  balls, 
or   article   of  war,   shall   be    burnt   alive. 

Art.     XYIII. 

He  who  in  battle  or  on  march  should 
throw  away  the  cartridges  given  him, 
desirous  of  not  injuring  the  enemy,  or 
of  relieving  himself  of  their  weight, 
shall  be  cut  in  pieces  alive,  joint  by 
joint,  beginning  in  preference  with  the 
fingers  of  the  right  hand.  His  remains 
shall  afterwards  be  burnt. 

Art.    XIX. 

If,  on  arriving  in  any  province,  a 
Montista  be  discovered,  his  house  shall 
be  sacked,  and  the  owner  or  tenant 
thereof  shall  be  burnt  in  the  said 
house. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     105 

Art.    XX. 

If  any  person  in  the  troops  under  my 
command  sells  any  article  with  usury, 
he   shall   receive   one   hundred   lashes. 

Art.    XXI. 

The   chiefs  of  this   division,   desirous  of 

preventing  all   fraud,   prohibit,  under  pain 

of  the  gallows,  any  attempt  to  give  money 

on    gage,   or  with    any   kind  of   interest. 

Art.  XXII. 
He  who,  from  this  time  forward,  should 
lend  money  on  gage,  shall  lose  all  right 
to  the  gage  given  him  ;  losing  also  what 
he  gave  on  it,  and  receiving  two  hun- 
dred lashes  in  punishment. 

Art.    XXIII. 
The    sentinel    or    advanced    post     who 
on   seeing  the  enemy  approach,   does  not 
give   the  alarm,   shall    be    cut    in    pieces 


106         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

alive  ;   considering  that  from   his  omission 
great   danger   may   arise. 

Art.  XXIV. 
The  cliief,  officer,  sergeant,  or  soldier 
■who  shall  not  defend  his  post  unto 
death,  shall  be  burnt  alive ;  no  excuse 
to  be  admitted  on  account  of  the  greater 
force  of  the  enemy,  the  bad  state  of 
the  armament,  or  any  thing  else  tending 
to   cover   his   cowardice. 

Art.  XXV. 
Any  officer  ordered  to  assault  a  post, 
shall  take  it,  or  lose  his  life  in  the  at- 
tempt ;  if  he  returns  unsuccessful,  though 
he  have  lost  all  his  soldiers,  he  shall  be 
immediately   shot. 

Art.     XXVI. 
If    any    sentinel    gives    the    ''qui  vive," 
and  does  not  receive  in  answer,  "  General 


CAPT.     CHARLES      H.     BROWN.  107 

Cruz,"   he  shall   immediately    fire    at    the 
person  interrogated. 

Art.  XXVII. 
This  government,  desirous  that  every 
individual  shall  preserve  his  money,  and 
employ  it  for  useful  objects,  prohibits 
all  kinds  of  hazardous  games  ;  and  if 
any  is  resorted  to  in  order  to  while 
away  time,  it  must  be  lottery,  and 
without  interest.  He  Avho  infringes  this 
article,   shall   be   hung. 

Art.     XXVIII. 

An  ounce  of  gold  shall  be  given  to 
every  body  who  gives  information  of 
the  infringement  of  the  preceding  Ar- 
ticle. 

Art.     XXIX. 

Any  sentinel  who  abandons  the  post 
committed   to  his   care,   shall    be  pinched 


108         IMPRISONMENT    AND     ESCAPE    01' 

with  red  hot  tongs  until  he  expires. 
After  this,  his  body  shall  be  exposed 
publicly  during  eight  days  ;  after  which 
it  shall  be  burnt,  and  its  ashes  cast 
into   the   air. 

Given  in  the  camp  of  Punta  Arena, 
December   13,   1851. 

On  reading  over  this  code  of  laws 
and  punishments,  many  proofs  may  be 
seen  of  either  present  or  intended  com- 
munication with  the  insurgents  in  the 
province  of  Conception,  under  general 
Cruz.  Articles  18,  19,  and  25  would 
indicate  that  Cambiaso  had  in  contem- 
plation a  march  through  the  country,  to 
join  his  forces  with  those  of  the  revo- 
lutionists. By  "  a  Montista,"  is  meant 
an  adherent  of  the  government  at  Sant- 
iago,  under  President  Montd. 

At    this    time,   1    very    frequently    saw 


CAPT.     CHAELES     H.    BROWN.  109 

Cambiaso  ;  sometimes  on  horseback,  sur- 
rounded by  his  aids  ;  sometimes  walking 
on  the  parade  ground.  He  rode  well, 
and  generally  on  a  very  spirited  horse  ; 
and  always  went  armed  with  sword, 
dirk  knife  and  pistol.  His  personal 
appearance  was  fine  ;  —  an  open  forehead, 
a  fair  complexion,  with  a  profusion  of 
dark  hair,  an  ample  moustache,  and 
heavy  beard.  His  nose  was  aquiline, 
and  his  profile  finely  marked,  and  what 
an  artist  would  call  the  coloring  of  his 
face,  was  admirable ; .  the  bright  red 
lips,  fair  forehead,  and  dark  hair,  soft- 
ened down  by  the  lighter  colored  beard 
and  moustache,  gave  a  beauty  to  his 
face  that  would  have  been  a  study  for 
a  painter.  But  his  eyes  revealed  the 
evil  passions  hid  under  that  fair  exte- 
rior.     They    were    long,    and    dark,    and 

hid     under    their    lashes,     from     beneath 
10 


110         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

■which  he  cast  sudden  and  covert  glances. 
When  he  was  talking  to  me,  he  never 
looked  steadily  at  me,  but  after  ending 
his  remarks,  would  give  me  a  sideway 
glance,  as  if  marking  the  effect  of  what 
he  said ;  and  in  that  glance  there  was 
something  to  me  stealthy  and  cat-like. 
After  I  observed  this,  I  always  took 
care,  during  our  conversations,  to  look 
him  directly  in  the  eye,  as  if  afraid  I 
might  lose  a  word,  but  in  fact  because 
I  felt  and  knew  that  he  could  not  en- 
dure any  look,  much  less  one  so  intently 
given. 

From  my  observation  of  his  character, 
I  should  not  have  called  him  a  brave 
man.  lie  was  very  vain,  very  fond  of 
being  admired,  and  often  to  gain  the 
applause  of  his  own  men,  would  assume 
an  air  of  bravado ;  and  doubtless  the 
same  love  of  admiration   would  have  led 


CAPT.  CHAELES  H.  BROWN.     Ill 

him  into  daring  acts  ;  but  lie  talked  too 
much  of  his  valor,  to  impress  me  with 
any  strong  belief  in  it.  He  doubtless 
had  the  animal  courage  which  belongs 
to  an  uneducated  man,  and  one  brought 
up  in  the  profession  of  arms  ;  but  I  am 
convinced  that  in  any  situation  calling 
for  self  reliance  and  presence  of  mind, 
his  boasted  courage  would  have  failed 
him.  But  I  am  giving  now  rather  the 
conclusions  I  drew  from  all  I  ever  knew 
of  him,  than  any  opinion  I  could  form 
at  this   time. 

Cambiaso  was  a  young  man,  not  more 
than  twenty-five  or  six  years  of  age  ;  in 
person,  rather  thin  than  stout,  and  of 
not  more  than  middle  size.  He  was 
vain  of  his  beauty,  and  fond  of  orna- 
ments. The  day  after  my  capture,  he 
sent  word  to  me  that  he  wanted  my 
watch     and     chain.      I     handed    them    to 


112         BIPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

the  officer  who  brought  the  message. 
The  watch  I  never  saw  again ;  but  the 
chain  I  sometimes  recognized  among  the 
ornaments  on    Cambiaso's   person. 

Indeed,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
me  to  recognize  my  own  pistols,  cut- 
lasses, and  so  forth,  carried  by  the 
officers  and  guards  who  surrounded  me. 
And  I  am  conscious  of  a  singular  feel- 
ing of  indignation,  —  or,  to  use  a  more 
accurate  word,  of  impatience — which  would 
cross  my  mind  whenever  I  reflected  that 
I  might  at  any  moment  receive  my 
death-wound  from  a  stroke  or  a  shot 
from  one  of  my  own  weapons.  At  tliis 
time  I  was  destitute  of  even  a  chaugc 
of  clothing  ;  my  trunks,  with  those  of 
all  my  passengers,  being  left  on  board 
the  Florida,  and  soon  broken  open  and 
rifled  of  their  contents,  by  Carabiaso  and 
his  men. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     113 

In  my  conversations  with  Cambiaso, 
which  now  occurred  very  frequently,  I 
often  begged  permission  to  go  on  board 
my  vessel,  and  be  under  guard  there, 
knowing  that  some  of  his  followers,  with 
their  wives,  were  living  on  board  the 
Florida  ;  but  his  answer  constantly  was, 
"  No  :  I  am  making  up  my  mind  what 
to  do  with  you  all."  At  times  he  would 
threaten  to  shoot  us  at  once ;  this  was 
when  he  was  made  angry  by  reports  of 
the  trouble  which  the  care  of  us  gave. 
These  threats  were  reported  to  me  by 
the  Chilian  prisoners  ;  but  during  his 
conversations  with  me,  he  never  broke 
out  into  violent  expressions,  but  seemed 
rather  to  keep  a  control  over  himself, 
as  if  to  impress  me  with  a  sense  of 
his   self  command. 

A    few     days     after    the    visit    of    the 

Virago,   I   was    told   that    Cambiaso    had 
10* 


114        IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

been  heard  to  say  that  he  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  poison  me.  This  seemed 
to  me  so  idle  a  threat,  when,  he  had 
me  so  completely  in  his  power,  that  it 
did  not  make  much  impression  upon  me, 
until  I  found  that  a  great  difference 
was  made  in  our  fare.  We  were  al- 
lowed to  eat  with  the  guards  in  the 
outer  apartment,  instead  of  having  our 
food  brought  to  our  own  room ;  and 
the  dishes  put  before  us  were  much 
better  than  1  had  formerly  seen  served 
to   the  soldiers. 

I  told  my  suspicions  to  the  mate,  and 
we  determined  to  taste  only  those  dishes 
which  we  saw  the  soldiers  eat  of.  This, 
however,  it  was  difficult  to  do  when 
any  new  dish  was  sent  to  us,  for  the 
guard  being  first  served,  would  eat  rav- 
enously of  the  delicacy,  and  often  leave 
nothing   for   us. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     115 

One  morning,  a  cup  of  coffee  was 
sent  to  me,  and  to  me  alone,  from  Cam- 
biaso's  own  table.  I  put  it  down  before 
me,  and  hesitated  ;  for  the  conviction 
flashed  across  me  that  the  poison  was 
in  this  coffee ;  but  looking  up,  I  saw 
the  eyes  of  all  the  soldiers  and  the 
mate  fixed  upon  me.  They  had  all 
heard  of  Cambiaso's  threat,  and  probably 
the  same  idea  was  in  their  minds  as  in 
mine.  Their  fixed  gaze  roused  my  pride, 
and  reflecting  that  I  might  as  well  drink 
it .  first  as  last,  and  indeed,  that  my 
death  by  Cambiaso's  hands  in  one  way 
or  other  was  almost  certain,  I  raised 
the  cup  and  drank  the  coffee  at  one 
draught.  No  evil  consequences  followed, 
and  from  that  time  a  cup  was  sent  me 
every  morning  ;  but  I  never  could  divest 
myself  of  the  idea  that  into  some  of 
them   the  poison  would  be  put. 


116        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

The  weather  throughout  the  time  of 
our  imprisonmeut  had  been  very  warm-, 
but  interrupted  by  heavy  north-west 
winds,  which  swept  from  between  the 
hills,  and  sometimes  drove  across  the 
harbor.  The  E.  Cornish  and  the  Florida 
had  been  anchored  by  the  rebels,  with 
two  anchors  each  ;  but  this  was  done  in 
a  very  unseamanlike  manner,  and  in  one 
of  these  high  winds  the  E.  Cornish 
began  to  drag  her  anchors.  This  was 
reported  to  mc  by  some  of  the  friendly 
Chilians,  who  had  been  on  board,  and 
I  began  to  fear  that  we  should  lose  the 
brig.  Not  that  I  had  any  definite  idea 
of  any  succor  which  could  arise  to  us 
from  Cambiaso's  retaining  the  vessels,  but 
they  seemed  a  tie  between  ourselves  and 
our  homes ;  and  as  long  as  they  were 
safe,  wc  had  at  least  the  means  by 
which  wc   could  leave   the  place,   in  case 


CAPT.     CHARLES    H.     BROWN.  117 

it  was  ever  in  our  power  so  to  do.  I 
therefore  advised  the  mate  to  send  word 
to  Cambiaso  by  one  of  his  guards,  that 
if  he  was  allowed  to  go  on  board  his 
vessel,  he  could  remedy  the  difficulty  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  I  told  all  our 
visitors,  who  were  quite  plenty  at  this 
time,  that  they  should  use  their  influence 
with  the  general,  to  allow  the  mate  to 
secure  the  brig  for   them. 

Cambiaso  immediately  sent  an  order 
for  the  mate  to  be  sent  off  to  the  E. 
Cornish  in  one  of  the  shore  boats,  ac- 
companied by  three  or  four  of  his  sol- 
»  diers,  as  guards.  This  was  in  the 
evening  ;  and  after  he  left,  I  was  visited 
by  several  of  the  officers,  and  at  last 
by  Cambiaso  himself.  I  fancied  I  saw 
some  anxiety  amongst  them,  with  regard 
to  the  mate's  proceedings.  They  were 
so    ignorant    of    all     that    pertained    to 


118         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

nayigation,  that  I  beliej^e  tliej  thought 
it  possible  for  one  man  to  navigate  a 
vessel  by  himself,  and  had  some  idea 
that  the  mate's  request  to  go  on  board 
was  part  of  a  concerted  plan  between 
us,  by  which  he  could  make  his  escape, 
and  bring  succor  to  the  other  prisoners. 
The  next  morning  the  wind  shifted,  and 
blew  directly  in  shore  very  fresh,  with 
a  heavy  sea.  Cambiaso  at  once  ran  up 
a  flag  on  the  flag-staff,  as  a  signal  for 
the  boat  to  return  to  shore.  I  was 
walking  on  the  platform  at  the  time, 
and  saw  her  leave  the  vessel,  with  four 
men  in  her ;  but  the  distance  was  too 
great  for  me  to  distinguish  whether  or 
no  tlic  mate  was  among  them.  As  the 
lioat  ncared  the  shore,  and  got  among 
the  breakers,  I  could  see  that  she  was 
rowed  very  unsteadily,  as  if  by  lands- 
men.      Suddenly    she    was    capsized,    and 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  119 

the  men  in  the  water.  Three  of  the  men 
struggled  to  the  shore,  but  the  fourth  was 
drowned.  He  nev^  rose  after  the  first 
struggle.  As  the  remainder  came  into 
the  barracks,  I  pressed  eagerly  forward, 
to  see  if  my  fellow  prisoner  was  with 
them,  and  learned  that  he  had  remained 
on  the  brig.  The  circumstance  of  his 
remaining,  added  to  their  half  formed 
suspicions,  and  during  the  rest  of  that 
day,  I  was  obliged  to  calm  the  hourly 
increasing  excitement,  by  assuring  each 
new  visitor  to  my  prison,  that  the  mate 
was  doubtless  doing  his  best  to  make 
the  brig  hold  to  her  anchors ;  that  it 
was  not  yet  safe  for  him  to  leave  her, 
and  so  forth.  That  evening,  to  my 
great  relief,  he  made  his  appearance, 
and  I  immediately  gave  him  his  cue  as 
to  what  account  he  should  give  of  his 
delay.      I  felt,  however,   that  I  had  run 


120         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

a  great  risk,  wliich  nothing  but  the 
strongest  necessity  should  make  me  in- 
cur  again. 

During  the  third  week  in  December, 
I  had  frequent  visits  from  Cambiaso  and 
Garcia,  during  which  they  questioned 
me  very  closely  in  regard  to  my  knowl- 
edge of  navigation,  sometimes  turning 
to  the  English  mate,  and  comparing  his 
answer  with  mine.  They  asked  what  I 
knew  of  the  navigation  of  the  Straits  ; 
and  would  often  seem  to  be  cross-exam- 
ining me  with  regard  to  the  lay  of  the 
shore,  and  the  appearance  of  the  head- 
lands. 

I  took  advantage  of  their  visits,  to 
beg  for  more  indulgence  to  my  crew, 
who  were  still  shut  up  in  the  crowded 
place  where  they  had  first  been  put, 
and  deprived  of  almost  the  necessaries 
of  existence ;    but    it   was    evident,    from 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  121 

Cambiaso's  answers,  that  he  had  not 
yet  determined  what  course  to  take  with 
regard   to   us. 

About  the  20th  of  the  montli,  I  re- 
ceived permission  from  Cambiaso  to  go 
on  board  my  vessel,  and  remain  there ; 
and  on  the  same  day  my  crew  were 
released  from  their  prison,  and  allowed 
to  run  at  large  in  tlic  yard,  and  cook 
for  themselves.  After  my  long  confine- 
ment in  the  barracks,  under  the  constant 
supervision  of  the  guard,  never  allowed 
to  eat  or  sleep  without  being  watched, 
the  Florida  seemed  like  home  to  me, 
and  the  face  of  my  steward  like  that 
of  an  old  friend.  He  had  been 
kept  on  board  to  cook  for  the  men 
who  were  living  in  the  Florida,  at  the 
head  of  whom  was  an  officer  by  the 
name    of    Tapia,    ( the    one    Avho   brought 

my   first  and  second  letters   to   me, )   and 
11 


122      IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

his  wife.  My  steward  had  often  asked 
for  me  while  I  was  on  shore,  and  Tapia 
would  sometimes  tease  him,  by  telling 
him  that  I  was  shot  or  hung,  that  he 
would  never  see  me  again,  and  so  forth ; 
at  which  he  would  cry  like  a  child ; 
and  when  he  saw  me  come  on  board, 
he  danced  and  skipped  around  me  with 
a  true  negro-like   expression   of  delight. 

I  asked  him  if  he  wanted  to  stay  in 
that  country  with  those  rebels  and  pi- 
rates. "  No,  massa  ;  no,  massa  Captain," 
he  replied,  "  I  want  to  be  with  you  ;  I 
feel  safe  while  you  are  by  me." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Comparative  comfort  —  The  American  ensign  —  Christmas 
day  —  My  visit  to  the  ban-acks  —  The  Indian  boys  —  Cam- 
biaso's  rage  —  Execution  of  the  Indian  woman  —  The 
cattle  slaughtered  —  Escape  of  the  Indians  —  Fears  of  the 
rebels  —  Preparations  for  leaving  —  The  Florida  re-christ- 
ened—  Interview  with  Cambiaso  —  The  embarking  of  the 
colonists  —  Prisoners  sent  to  the  Florida. 

After  my  removal  to  the  Florida,  I 
made  myself  comparatively  comfortable, 
with  the  help  of  my  steward  Tom,  who 
seemed  as  if  he  could  never  do  enough 
for  me.  I  was  allowed  to  'take  pos- 
session of  my  state-room,  and  found  some 
few  of  my  personal  effects  lying  about 
the  vessel,  which  I  took  the  liberty  of 
taking  possession  of.  Tom  had  two  of 
my   shirts,   which   he   had   washed   in    his 


124        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

best  manner,  and  hid  for  me.  The 
luxury  of  a  change  of  clothes  and  a 
good  bath,  was  delightful  to  me.  Tom 
was  allowed  to  do  my  cooking  at  the 
same  time  that  he  did  Tapia's,  our  ra- 
tions being  brought  from  the  barracks. 
I  used  to  eat  my  meals,  sitting  on  the 
deck,  it  being  then  the  height  of  sum- 
mer, and  very  warm  most  of  the  time, 
in   the   cabin. 

One  morning,  in  loitering  on  the  deck, 
I  saw  the  American  ensign,  which  had 
been  ignominiously  thrown  behind  a  coil 
of  roi)C.  I  glanced  around,  and  finding 
that  no  one  was  obscrying  me,  raised 
it,  and  Slurried  with  it  to  my  state 
room,   concealing  it  beneath   my  mattrass. 

I  found  the  Florida  much  injured  by 
the  neglect  and  rough  usage  she  Iiad 
undergone.  Many  of  her  sails  were 
destroyed,  her   running  and  standing  gear 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  125 

cut  up,  and  one  of  her  quarter  boats 
lost?  This  grieved  me  very  much  ;  and 
with  Tom's  aid,  I  endeavored  gradually 
to  repair  such  of  the  injuries  as  it  was 
in  my  power  to  mend,  thinking  that 
the  time  might  come  when  the  vessel 
might   enable   us   to   make   our   escape. 

The  morning  of  Christmas  Day  dawned, 
bringing  to  me  so  many  sad  recollections 
that  I  became  nervously  restless,  and 
unable  to  remain  quietly  on  board  ray 
vessel.  Every  thing  seemed  to  remind 
me  of  home,  by  the  very  force  of  con- 
trast ;  the  wild,  foreign  faces  around 
me  ;  the  strange  language,  made  harsh 
by  oaths  and  curses,  which  greeted  my 
ear;  the  summer  vegetation;  the  heat — 
all  so  opposed  to  every  thing  associated 
with  the  season  in  my  mind ;'  the  re- 
collection   of   the    terrible    scenes    I   had 

passed   through ;    of    my    present    danger, 
11* 


126         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

and  of  what  might  be  still  before  me — 
all  pressed  upon  me,  until  some  change 
of  place  seemed  to  me  absolutely  ne- 
cessary. 

I  determined  to  go  on  shore  ;  so, 
taking  a  boat,  accompanied  by  Tapia 
and  some  of  his  men,  we  rowed  ashore, 
and   soon   reached   the   barracks. 

Here,  every  thing  was  in  confusion  — 
sucli  confusion,  that  I  quickly  wished 
myself  back  again  oi>  board  the  barque. 
The  soldiers  were  mostly  under  arms, 
the  released  prisoners  and  my  crew 
standing  in  groups  on  the  parade  ground  ; 
and,  looking  towards  Cambiaso's  house, 
which  was  in  the  middle  of  the  yard, 
I  saw  him  standing  at  the  door,  talking 
to  Garcia,  and  apparently  in  a  state  of 
great  excitement.  Not  willing  to  come 
undei'  his  notice  in  liis  present  mood, 
I   passed   quietly    around    the    yard,   look- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     127 

ing  for  somebody  from  whom  I  could 
obtain  information.  Mr.  Dunn  I  could 
not  see,  Le  being  still  under  guard, 
confined  with  captains  Avalos  and  Salas ; 
but  I  soon  met  my  old  fellow-prisoner, 
the  English  mate,  and  from  him  and 
some  of  the  Chilians  I  gathered  the 
cause   of  the   uproar. 

There  had  been  several  visits  from 
the  Indians  during  the  last  week  or  two, 
and  there  was  some  reason  to  suppose 
that  some  of  these  late  visitors  had 
come  as  spies.  The  herdsmen  who  had 
the  charge  of  the  cattle  belonging  to 
the  colony,  had  reported  that  they  had 
of  late  seen  Indians,  armed,  lurking 
around  the  cattle,  and  hanging  about 
the  Avoods  which  surrounded  the  can- 
tonment. This  had  roused  Cambiaso's 
suspicions,  and  on  the  day  after  I  re- 
moved    to     the    Florida,    he    had     seized 


128        IMPKISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

two  Indian  boys  who  had  been  living 
some  time  in  the  barracks,  and,  appar- 
ently with  the  design  of  intimidating 
the  Indians,  had  ordered  them  to  be 
conveyed  to  a  point  about  two  miles 
distant,  at  a  place  where  the  Indians 
were  accustomed  to  pass,  on  their  way 
to  the  barracks.  There  they  were  hung 
by  the  neck  to  the  trees,  and  lanced 
to  death,  their  cheeks  and  noses  being 
cut   off. 

On  Christmas  morning,  an  Indian  wo- 
man had  appeared  at  the  gate,  re- 
questing to  enter  and  visit  her  son,  who 
was  in  the  barracks.  She  was  carried 
before  Cambiaso,  and  being  questioned 
by  him  as  to  the  movements  of  tho 
Indians,  and  when  they  were  coming  to 
make  another  visit  for  barter,  she  con- 
tradicted hcrvSelf  continually.  She  con- 
fessed   that   she    had    seen   the   bodies    of 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     129 

the  Indian  boys,  but  being  asked  who 
was  with  her  when  she  saw  them,  she 
at  first  said,  "  No  one ; "  then  said  she 
had  been  sent  to  the  yard  by  one  of 
the  chiefs,  —  then  that  he  was  angry 
about  the  death  of  the  boys.  While 
she  was  being  questioned,  the  herdsmen 
came  hurrying  into  the  camp,  with  the 
news  that  the  Indians  were  killing  the 
cattle,  and   carrying   them  off. 

Cambiaso  mustered  his  mounted  troops 
hurriedly,  arming  them  with  muskets 
and  clubs  ;  and  then,  leaving  the  Indian 
Avoman  under  guard,  he  hastened  out 
with  his  men  in  pursuit  of  the  marau- 
ders. The  Indians  soon  took  the  alarm, 
and  mounting  their  swift  horses,  were 
off  before  him,  leaving  the  slaughtered 
cattle  lying  on  their  pasture  ground. 
He,  however,  soon  put  his  men  on  tlic 
track,   and    leavino:     them    to    follow    the 


130         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Indians,  returned  on  the  gallop  to  the 
barracks,  terribly  exasperated.  He  rode 
in  and  called  to  the  guard  to  bring  out 
the  Indian  woman,  crying,  "  Drag  her 
out !  kill  her !  shoot  her  down,  she 
shall  tell  me  no  more  lies!"  She  was 
dragged  out  before  him,  resisting  with 
all  her  might,  and  pleading  for  her  life, 
asking  for  her  son,  praying  for  his  help. 
Her  pij^yers  were  useless,  and  were  not 
even  listened  to.  Cambiaso  himself  col- 
lected a  file  of  soldiers,  and  ordered 
her  to  be  dragged  to  a  tree  and  tied 
there.  He  gave  the  order  to  fire  him- 
self.  Six  or  eight  bullets  struck  her, 
but  still  she  writhed  in  agony,  and  con- 
tinued her  shrieks  for  help.  One  of 
the  soldiers,  at  a  nod  from  Cambiaso, 
walked  up  to  her  and  struck  her  on 
the  head  with  a  club,  which  silenced 
hsr  for  ever.      Her  dead  body  was  hang- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  131 

ing  to  the  tree  when  I  entered  the 
yard. 

The  English  mate,  from  whom  I  got 
most  of  this  information,  and  who  had 
been  suffered  to  go  at  large  almost  un- 
watched  since  I  left  the  barracks,  told 
me  that  he  had  never  seen  Cambiaso  in 
such  a  fiendish  passion ;  that  Garcia 
had  tried  to  quiet  him,  but  without  the 
least  effect. 

The  troops  were  still  out,  following 
the  Indians,  and  great  anxiety  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  yard  that  they  might 
overtake  and  capture  them.  The  gen- 
eral opinion  seemed  to  be  that  the 
Indians,  seeing  the  weakened  and  disor- 
derly state  of  the  colony,  had  formed  a 
plan  to  make  a  sudden  attack  upon 
them,  and  massacre  them  all,  for  the 
sake  of  the  booty  which  they  would 
secure.      From  what    I    gathered,   I   con- 


132         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

eluded  that  a  party  of  Indians  had  come 
down  the  pass  on  their  ■way  to  visit 
the  barracks,  when,  finding  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  boys  on  their  road,  they 
had  sent  the  woman  on  as  a  spy.  Why 
they  had  commenced  slaughtering  and 
driving  off  the  cattle,  witliout  waiting 
for  her  return,  I  could  not  tell,  unless 
the  herdsmen  were  so  few  and  so  easily 
to  be  overpowered  that  the  temptation 
was    too   great   for   them. 

At  about  one  in  the  afternoon,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  Tapia  and  his  men 
to  put  off  again  for  the  barque,  and 
happy  indeed  was  I  to  find  myself  again 
on  board   of  her. 

I  determined  not  to  go  ashore  again 
unless  I  was  compelled  to,  and  to  keep 
as  much  out  of  Carabiaso's  way  as  pos- 
sible. Fifty  plans  of  escape  had  crossed 
my   mind.      Sometimes    to    leave   the   ves- 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  133 

sel,  and  strike  across  the  country  among 
the  Indians  —  but  from  that,  the  fear  of 
starvation  deterred  me ;  sometimes  to 
get  enough  of  my  crew  and  of  the 
prisoners  friendly  to  me  on  board  the 
vessel  to  navigate  her,  and  make  our 
escape  in  that  way ;  but  the  Florida 
lay  right  under  the  guns  of  the  fort, 
and  the  impossibility  of  getting  her 
under  weigh  was  too  evident.  Besides, 
I  felt  a  great  reluctance  to  any  plan 
of  escape  which  would  leave  my  fellow 
sufferers,  Mr.  Dunn,  captain  Avalos,  and 
so  forth,  still  in  the  hands  of  the  pi- 
rates. There  seemed  to  be  nothing  but 
to  wait  the  course  of  events,  and  avail 
myself  of  any  favorable  circumstance 
that  might   occur. 

On   the    morning    of  the    26th,    several 
men   from   the    barracks    came    on    board 

to   visit  us,   as    they   sometimes   did,   and 
12 


134        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

from  them  we  learned  that  the  soldiers 
sent  after  the  Indians  had  returned  with- 
out being  able  to  overtake  them,  after 
following  them  for  twelve  hours ;  and 
that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  anxiety 
on  shore,  lest  the  Indians  should  come 
up  in  force  and  attack  them  in  the 
night. 

I  had  felt  some  desire  to  see  one  of 
the  native  Patagonians,  having  still  my 
school-boy  belief  that  they  were  giants, 
as  our  geographies  generally  inform  us. 
During  my  imprisonment  at  the  barracks, 
one  or  two  of  the  men  had  visited  the 
yard,  and  I  had  seen  them  from  my 
window.  They  were  certainly  largo  in 
Btature,  but  by  no  means  came  up  to 
the  measure  of  my  boyish  imagination. 
They  had  heretofore  shown  themselves 
friendly  towards  tlic  colonists,  being 
probably   kept    in   awe    by  governor   Ga- 


CAPT.  CHAKLES  H.  BROWN.     135 

mero,  and  the  strict  discipline  which*  he 
enforced  ;  but  they  were  said  to  be  very 
far  from  cowardly,  and  very  savage  and 
inhuman  when  roused  by  the  excitement 
of  fighting.  I  had  often  thought  that 
Cambiaso  had  some  dread  of  them,  judg- 
ing from  two  or  three  remarks  about 
them  which  he  had  made  to  me  from 
time   to   time. 

For  two  or  'three  days  after  this  dis- 
turbance by  the  Indians,  a  sharp  look- 
out was  kept  by  Cambiaso,  and  every 
visit  to  the  Florida  from  the  shore  gave 
me  accounts  of  the  alarm  of  the  rebels. 
At  last,  I  heard  that  we  were  all  to 
leave  the  place,  and  the  settlement  was 
to  be  abandoned.  I  eagerly  asked  Tapia, 
from  whom  I  heard  this,  if  he  would 
tell  me  where  we  were  going ;  but  I 
found  he  knew  no  more  of  our  destina- 
tion   than    I    did :    indeed,   it    was    only 


136        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

from  what  he  had  observed  on  shore, 
and  from  the  surmises  of  the  men  around 
him,  that  he  had  drawn  his  conclusion. 
I  felt  very  anxious  to  go  on  shore  and 
try  to  discover  for  myself  how  much 
truth  there  was  in  this  report,  but  the 
remembrance  of  my  last  visit  and  its 
risks  deterred  me.  I  could  only  question 
Tapia,  who  went  to  the  fort  very  often, 
and  who  seemed  as  anxious  as  myself 
to  know  what  was  to  be  done.  It  was 
evident  that  the  men  did  not  trust  Cam- 
biaso  ;  that  they  feared  his  securing  the 
treasure  and  one  of  the  vessels,  and 
abandoning  them  to  the  mercy  of  the 
Indians  or  to  the  Chilian  government, 
when  the  news  of  the  insurrection  should 
reach  Valparaiso.  This  seemed  not  im- 
probable ;  but  for  myself,  I  judged  it 
more  likely  that  Cambiaso  was  making 
some   preparation    to    join    the    insurgent 


CAPT.     CHAELES     H.     BROWN.  137 

party  under  general  Cruz,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Conception,  for  I  was  convinced 
that  he  had  in  some  way  held  commu- 
nication with  them  before  he  rose  against 
governor  Gamero.  He  had  several  times 
in  his  conversations  with  me,  declared 
himself  a  sworn  partisan  of  general 
Cruz ;  and  once,  in  answer  to  my  com- 
plaint of  the  outrages  committed  against 
my  vessel  and  myself,  he  had  said  that 
if  general  Cruz  succeeded  in  overthrow- 
ing the  government  at  Santiago,  every- 
thing connected  with  my  case  should  be 
satisfactorily  adjusted,  and  that  I  should 
have  no  reason  to  complain.  In  speaking 
thus,  he  must  of  course  have  referred 
to  my  pecuniary  losses.  No  reparation 
could  be  made  to  me  or  to  his  friends, 
for  the  barbarities  inflicted  upon  my 
friend,    Mr.    Shaw ;     but    in     Cambiaso's 

scale    of   injuries,    the    loss    of    property 
12* 


138         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

probably  stood  highest.  Somewhere  about 
the  29th  or  30th  of  December,  several 
workmen  were  sent  on  board  the  Florida, 
evidently  for  the  purpose  of  making 
preparation  for  her  departure.  Her  name, 
which  was  beautifully  painted  on  her 
stern,  was  smeared  over,  a  fresh  coat  of 
paint  put  on,  and  the  word  "  Inesperado," 
( the  unexpected^)  inserted  in  its  place. 
"Wood,  water  and  provisions  in  great 
quantities  were  sent  to  the  Florida  and 
the  Eliza  Cornish,  and  the  two  vessels 
were  put  in  as  good  order  as  could  be 
expected  from  such  unseamanlike  work- 
men. 

These  workmen  took  the  opportunity 
to  ransack  the  two  vessels,  secreting 
everything  of  value  that  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on,  and  throwing  overboard 
what  they  thought  useless.  Among  other 
things,   they   came    across    some    bags    of 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  139 

silver  ore  which  had  been  overlooked 
in  the  former  searching  of  the  Eliza 
Cornish,  and  doubtless  would  have  ap- 
propriated this  treasure  to  the  deep,  if 
the  English  mate  had  not  been  standing 
by  them  at  the  time  of  the  discovery, 
and  threatened  to  inform  against  them. 
The  bags  were  worth  about  two  hun- 
dred  dollars   apiece. 

On  the  morning  of  the  last  day  of 
the  year,  Cambiaso  himself  came  on 
board,  attended  by  his  aids,  fully  armed, 
and  evidently  intending  to  surround  him- 
self with  all  that  could  impress  us  with 
an  idea  of  his  authority.  He  went  into 
the  cabin,  and  then  sent  for  me  to  come 
to  him.  When  I  entered,  he  was  seated 
by  the  table,  with  his  pistols  lying 
before  him,  and  dressed  in  his  full  regi- 
mentals. He  received  me  with  much 
politeness,   and  offered    me   a   seat ;    then 


140       IMPRISONMENT     AND     ESCAPE     OP 

commenced  by  telling  me  that  the  marks 
of  hostility  shown  to  the  colony  by  the 
Indians,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
supplies  for  his  followers,  had  deter- 
mined him  to  abandon  the  place,  and 
that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  keep 
me  with  him,  to  navigate  the  vessel ; 
and  that  he  expected  me  to  use  my  ut- 
most skill,  and  to  obey  his  orders  to 
the  letter,  with  regard  to  the  course  of 
the  vessel.  I  answered  him  very  coolly, 
that  he  had  left  me  no  choice  ;  since  I 
was  entirely  in  his  power,  I  must  per- 
force obey  his  orders  ;  that  with  regard 
to  using  my  utmost  skill,  I  had  too 
much  regard  for  my  own  life  and  the 
lives  of  my  crew  in  that  perilous  navi- 
gation, not  to  do  my  best.  My  coolness 
did  not  seem  to  offend  him,  for  he 
smiled  as  I  spoke,  and  rising,  said, 
"  You  shall  be  well  watched,  Sir  Captain, 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  141 

and  it  will  go  hard  with  you  if  you 
give  any  cause  for  suspicion."  After 
going  through  the  vessel  and  giving 
some  orders  to  his  workmen,  he  pre- 
pared to  leave,  when  I  said  to  him  that 
if  he  would  give  me  authority,  I  would 
give  directions  to  the  workmen  in  re- 
gard to  such  repairs  as  the  vessel  might 
need  to  render  her  sea-worthy.  To  this 
he  assented,  apparently  with  much  sat- 
isfaction, and  entering  the  boat,  his  men 
pushed   off  for   the   shore. 

New  Year's  Day  dawned,  clear,  bright, 
and  summer-like,  and  early  in  the  morn- 
x'ng  the  boats  were  all  busily  engaged 
in  bringing  off  the  colonists  to  the  two 
vessels.  My  crew  and  the  crew  of  the 
Eliza  Cornish  were  sent  on  board  their 
respective  vessels,  and  my  old  companion, 
the  English  mate,  was  put  in  command 
of  the   E.    Cornish. 


142        IMPKISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

We  had  a  busy  time  of  it  on  that 
New  Year's  Day.  Men,  women,  children, 
provisions,  water,  camp  furniture,  and  so 
forth,  were  crowded  on  board  our  ves- 
sels, and  my  ingenuity  was  taxed  to  the 
utmost  to  make  stowage  for  them  all. 
About  two  hundred  of  the  colonists  were 
put  on  board  the  Eliza  Cornish,  and 
nearly  two  hundred  and  sixty  on  board 
the  Florida.  Cambiaso,  with  Garcia, 
and  his  other  officers,  took  possession  of 
the  cabin  and  state-rooms,  taking  with 
them  Mr.  Dunn,  captain  Avalos,  and 
some  others.  The  rest  were  crowded 
into  the  hold  with  the  common  soldiers. 
I  was  allowed  to  retain  my  state-room, 
as  captain  of  the  vessel,  and  my  mates 
and  crew  were  put  under  my  command. 
The  treasure  was  stored  in  Cambiaso's 
state-room,  or  near  there,  nailed  up  in 
heavy   wooden   boxes.      I   found    that    all 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  143 

the  prisoners  of  any  importance  were  to 
be  put  in  the  Florida,  probably  to  re- 
tain them  under  Cambiaso's  own  super- 
vision. Captain  Salas,  however,  was 
sent  to   the  E.    Cornish. 

Among  our  passengers  were  about  a 
hundred  goats  ;  and  as  we  had  no  pens 
to  confine  them  in,  a  few  dogs  were 
sent  with  them  as  guards,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  keep  them  within  bounds. 
Two  dozen  hogs  were  to  share  the 
privileges   of  the  deck  with  the  goats. 

On  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  January 
I  managed  to  exchange  a  few  words 
with  captain  Avalos  and  Mr.  Dunu,'who 
had  been  sent  on  board  just  before 
dark.  They  told  me  that  everything  of 
value  had  been  taken  from  the  fort, 
what  was  portable  sent  to  the  vessels, 
and  any  things  too  heavy  to  carry  away, 
and    too    valuable    to     be    left    to    the 


144      IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

Indians,  had  been  buried  in  different 
spots  around  the  cantonment  and  in  the 
yard  of  the  barracks,  by  order  of  Cam- 
biaso.  It  seemed  to  them  that  he  med- 
itated a  return  to  the  colony,  in  case 
he  met  with  any  diflSculties  in  navigat- 
ing the  vessel,  and  that  therefore  he 
was  unwilling  to  abandon  any  thing  to 
the  Indians.  We  were  not  able  to  talk 
long,  as  some  of  the  officers  were  stand- 
ing by,  and   evidently  watching  us. 


CHAPTER     YII. 

Cambiaso's  orders  —  We  set  sail  —  Wood's  Bay  —  The  old 
French  ship  —  A  drunken  riot  —  The  officer  condemned  — 
Garcia's  interference  —  Men  deserted  at  Wood's  Bay  —  The 
Eliza  Cornish  left  behind — Stormy  weather  —  Sandy  Bay 
again  —  The  Indians — Cape  Gregoiy  —  Interview  with 
Cambiaso  —  His  promises  —  Conversation  with  Mr.  Dunn 
—  My  determination. 

The  2d  of  January  saw  us  all  ready 
for  sea,  and  early  in  the  morning  Cam- 
biaso came  on  board.  He  called  me 
into  his  state-room,  and  after  renewing 
his  threats,  in  case  he  saw  any  signs 
of  my  disobeying  his  orders,  he  gave 
me  a  written  paper,  on  which  were  my 
directions  for  navigating  the  vessel.  I 
opened   it  before   him,  thinking   that  if  I 

saw     the    necessity     of    making    any    re- 
13 


11-6        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

marks  about  them,  it  would  be  better 
to  do  it  at  once.  The  paper  directed 
me  to  go  westward  through  the  Straits 
to  Cape  Pillar  ;  thence  west-bj-north 
1-4  north  to  82  deg.  west  longitude ; 
then  northerly  to  the  latitude  of  the 
island  of  Marica  ;  thence  for  that  island, 
coming  to  anchor  on  the  east  side,  and 
waiting  for  further  orders.  The  Eliza 
Cornish  was  to  follow  the  Florida,  and 
at  night  both  vessels  were  to  display  a 
signal   lantern   at  mast  head. 

He  remarked,  when  I  had  finished 
reading,  that  these  were  only  my  general 
directions  ;  that  I  must  look  to  him 
for  more  particular  orders  from  day  to 
day  ;  and  that  while  the  yessels  were 
within  the  Straits,  he  should  often  want 
to   anchor   at   different  points. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
a  signal  gun   was   fired   from  the  Florida, 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  147 

and  both  vessels  weighed  anchor  and 
got  under  way  for  the  westward.  We 
made  but  slow  work  and  little  progress, 
both  vessels  being  somewhat  out  of  re- 
pair from  a  month's  neglect,  and  the 
standing  and  running  rigging  being  very 
much  chafed  and  worn.  On  Saturday, 
the  3d,  we  reached  Port  Famine,  and 
there  were  ordered  to  lay  over  till 
Monday  morning,  during  which  time  the 
men  were  employed  in  getting  in  more 
wood  and  water,  while  I  was  fully  oc- 
cupied in  stowing  our  numerous  passen- 
gers more  closely,  and  if  possible,  more 
comfortably.  In  this  labor  I  received 
much  assistance  from  Mr.  Dunn  and  cap- 
tain Avalos,  whose  situation  I  endeav- 
ored to  render  as  comfortable  as  possible, 
and  whose  fare  I  supplied  from  my  own 
mess. 
Sunday   evening,  as   I    was   standing  on 


148         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

the  deck,  one  of  the  men  from  the  hold 
passed  me  with  a  bundle  under  his 
arm,  and  approaching  the  side  of  the 
vessel,  Tras  about  to  throw  it  orer.  I 
stopped  him,  asking  what  it  was.  He 
carelessly  turned  down  the  covering  and 
showed  me  the  body  of  a  child  who 
had  been  born  the  evening  the  colonists 
came  on  board,  and  who  had  died  that 
morning.  The  brute,  who  I  suppose  was 
the  father,  had  attached  pieces  of  iron 
to  the  cloth  which  covered  the  poor 
little  thing,  to  insure  its  sinking.  I 
compelled  him  to  go  on  shore  and  bury 
it,  ordering  him  by  my  authority  as 
captain  of  the  ship.  I  took  every  oc- 
casion to  exercise  this  authority,  think- 
ing it  might  be  of  advantage  to  me  in 
the  future.  The  mother  died  during 
our   voyage. 

"We  got   under   way    again   on   Monday 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  149 

morning,  and  reached  St.  Nicholas  Bay 
by  the  evening  of  the  6th.  Here  we 
lay  over  all  night,  and  on  Wednesday 
morning  continued  our  course  westward 
until  Thursday  afternoon,  when  we  came 
in  sight  of  Wood's  Bay,  Cape  Holland. 
Cambiaso  sent  for  me  as  we  ncared  the 
harbor,  and  informed  me  that  he  in- 
tended to  lie  in  this  anchorage  for  some 
time.  His  object  was  to  get  some 
liquor  out  of  an  old  French  ship  which 
had  been  wrecked  there  some  time  ago, 
and  which  still  lay  with  the  greater 
part  above  Trater.  We  came  to  anchor 
in  the  evening,  and  the  next  morning 
the  soldiers  were  sent  on  shore  to  un- 
load the  wreck,  and  rescue  what  liquor 
was   still   untouched   by   the   water. 

Some   barrels  and   casks    were    brought 
out    whole,   and    immediately    transferred 

to    the    Florida ;    but    many   were    stove 
13 


150         IMPKISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

in,  either  purposely  or  by  accident,  and 
then  commenced  a  scene  of  drunken 
rioting  and  disorder  which  lasted  for 
three  or  four  'days.  Officers,  men,  sailors, 
—  all  "were  intoxicated  ;  and  Cambiaso 
and  Garcia  seemed  to  have  as  little 
control  over  them  as  I  had.  Indeed, 
the  temptation  sometimes  proved  too 
strong  for  Cambiaso  himself;  and  Mr. 
Dunn,  Garcia,  and  myself  were  almost 
the  only  men  who  preserved  full  pos- 
session  of  our   senses. 

I  remember  one  case  in  which  I  used 
my  authority  as  master  of  the  ship 
somewhat  rashly.  The  occupant  of  one 
of  the  state-rooms,  the  doctor  of  the 
colony  under  governor  Gamcro,  and  a 
Frenchman,  had  drank  enough  to  make 
him  noisily  troublesome,  both  in  the 
cabin  and  on  deck.  At  last  he  went 
out   on  the  jib-boom,  hallooing  and  shout- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     151 

ing.  I  called  to  liim  to  come  in,  but 
finding  lie  paid  no  attention  to  me,  I 
sent  the  only  seaman  I  had  on  board 
out  after  him.  This  proved  equally  un- 
availing, and,  losing  all  patience,  I 
sprang  out  myself,  collared  him,  and 
thrust  him  into  his  state-room.  I  fully 
expected  that  he  would  complain  of  me 
to  Cambiaso,  and  that  I  might  have  to 
suffer  for  my  rash  assumption  of  au- 
thority ;  but  I  never  heard  from  him 
again. 

By  Sunday  night  the  rioting  seemed 
to  have  worn  itself  out,  and  the  men, 
having  slept  off  their  intoxication,  began 
to  return  to  their  duty.  That  night, 
however,  Cambiaso  was  in  a  terrible 
humor,  swearing  at  all  around  him,  and 
giving  most  contradictory  orders,  which 
it  was  impossible  to  observe.  One  of 
his    officers    unluckily    offended     him    by 


152        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

venturing  to  remonstrate,  when  Cambiaso 
in  his  half  drunken  passion,  ordered  him 
to  be  put  in  irons  and  sent  on  board 
the  Eliza  Cornish,  accompanied  by  a  file 
of  soldiers,  and  at  twelve  at  night  to 
be  tied  to  the  mast  and  shot  down. 
The  men  obeyed ;  but  I  noticed  the 
muttered  indignation  of  the  other  officers, 
and  general  Garcia,  after  Cambiaso  had 
retired  to  the  cabin,  stepped  forward  to 
the  officer  under  whose  direction  the 
removal  was  made,  and  who  was  to 
control  the  execution,  and,  under  the 
plea  that  Cambiaso  was  under  the  in- 
fluence of  liquor  and  might  alter  his 
order,  he  gave  the  officer  authority  to 
delay  the  execution  for  an  hour  or  two, 
or  at  least  till  he  heard  again  from 
himself.  I  watched  the  countenance  of 
the  condemned  man.  as  he  went  towards 
the  boat,   but  could    read   nothing   on    it 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     153 

but  sturdy,  obstinate  defiance  and  in- 
dignation, until,  just  as  lie  was  leaving 
the  deck,  a  woman's  scream  was  beard. 
It  was  bis  wife,  wbo,  occupied  in  tbe 
hold  of  tbe  vessel,  bad  beard  nothing 
of  what  was  going  on  until  this  mo- 
ment, and  now  rushed  on  deck  with  her 
children  hanging  round  her.  Tbe  man's 
face  twitched  as  she  flung  herself  into 
his  arms,  crying  most  piteously ;  but  tbe 
soldiers  quickly  took  her  away  from 
him,  and  hurried  him  on  board  tbe  boat. 
I  went  up  to  tbe  woman  and  endeavored 
to  console  her,  by  telling  her  of  general 
Garcia's  interference,  but  between  my 
broken  Spanish  and  her  sobs,  I  am 
afraid  very  little  of  what  I  said  reached 
her   mind. 

Garcia  bad  left  tbe   deck   and   gone  to 
Cambiaso's  state-room,  where  he  remained 

for   about   two   hours,   soothing    Cambiaso 
13* 


154         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

and  pleading  for  the  officer's  life.  At 
last  he  came  out  successful.  A  boat 
was  sent  to  the  Eliza  Cornish,  the 
officer  brought  back  and  restored  to  his 
wife.  This  and  other  humane  actions 
of  general  Garcia,  made  much  impression 
on  me  at  the  time,  and  inclined  me  to 
believe  his  assertions  made  afterwards, 
that  he  had  only  joined  Cambiaso  on 
compulsion,   and   from  fear   for  his    life. 

Monday,  the  12th,  a  terrible  storm 
raged ;  but  in  the  afternoon,  Cambiaso 
began  to  send  some  of  the  men  on 
shore,  as  he  said,  to  wash  their  clothes. 
This  seemed  to  mc  a  strange  proceeding, 
and  I  watched  his  movements  in  some 
anxiety.  By  night  about  forty-four  were 
landed,  and  on  the  last  return  of  the 
boat,  it  was  hoisted  up  and  put  in  its 
place.  Cambiaso  then,  under  his  own 
directions,     had     our     four-pounders     and 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.      BROWN.  155 

swivel  gun  loaded  with  two  balls  each 
—  the  swivel  gun  pointed  towards  the 
stern.  When  this  was  accomplished, 
orders  were  sent  to  the  Eliza  Cornish 
to  weigh  anchor  and  go  in  shore.  The 
Eliza  Cornish  had  but  two  guns  on 
board,  and  was  not  utterly  defenceless. 
It  was  said  by  Cambiaso  that  if  the 
poor  mate  should  attempt  to  follow  the 
Florida,  his  brig  should  be  fired  into 
and  sunk,  while  I  was  ordered  to  get 
under  way  and  go  to  the  eastward. 
I  understood  his  plans  now.  The  men 
landed  at  "Wood's  Bay  were  to  be  left 
behind  to  starve  or  fall  a  prey  to  the 
Indians  ;  the  Eliza  Cornish  and  her  two 
hundred  passengers  were  to  be  left  to 
their  fate  ;  while  the  Florida,  ( on  board 
of  which  was  all  the  treasure  and  Cam- 
biaso's  chief  followers,)  was  to  be  used 
to  convey  the  pirates    to    some  place   of 


156        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

security.  I  shrank  from  being  even 
compelled  to  be  accessory  to  such  cruelty, 
and  ventured  to  remonstrate  with  Cam- 
biaso  ;  not,  however,  on  his  barbarity, — 
that,  indeed,  would  have  been  useless, — 
but  on  the  risk  the  Florida  would  run 
in  attempting  such  dangerous  navigation 
on  a  night  so  thick  and  murky,  with 
the  wind  blowing  heavily  in  shore.  I 
told  him  that  it  was  not  safe  to  start, 
that  I  could  not  answer  for  our  not 
being  ashore  before  morning ;  but  he 
would  not. even  listen  to  me,  saying  he 
believed  I  was  a  coward,  and  angrily 
commanded  me  to   obey  orders. 

It  was,  indeed,  as  much  as  I  could 
do  to  keep  the  vessel  from  the  shore 
that  night,  the  storm  continuing  till  day- 
light, and  I  expected  every  moment  that 
we  should  be  driven  in  shore.  I  do 
not  know   that  I    dreaded    it  much.      It 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  157 

seemed  to  me  as  well  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  as  to  remain  with 
these  fellows,  and  our  chances  of  escape 
were  as  good   on  land  as  at  sea. 

Tuesday  morning,  however,  saw  us 
again  opposite  Sandy  Bay,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  I  hove-to  off  the  harbor,  by  Cam- 
biaso's  orders.  The  boat  was  then 
cleared  away  ready  for  lowering,  and 
some  of  the  men  were  ordered  to  go 
ashore  to  bring  off  some  provisions 
which  had  been  left  behind ;  but  they, 
perhaps  mistrusting  Cambiaso's  intentions, 
and  fearing  that  they  would  be  aban- 
doned, as  their  companions  had  been  at 
Wood's  Bay,  refused  to  land,  declaring 
that  they  saw  some  Indians  prowling 
about  the  barracks.  I  saw,  by  the  help 
of  my  spy-glass,  that  what  they  took, 
or   pretended  to    take    for  Indians,   were 

only  barrels  and   stumps  of   trees,  but  I 
14 


158        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

prudently  said  nothing.  Cambiaso  stormed 
and  threatened,  but  the  men  were  stub- 
born and  immovable,  and  Garcia  again 
interfering,  he  sullenly  ordered  me  to 
proceed,  and  retired  to  his  state-room. 
That  evening  I  anchored  under  Cape 
Gregory. 

Towards  ten  o'clock,  when  the  night 
watch  was  set,  and  all  was  quiet  on 
the  vessel,  Mr.  Dunn  and  myself  were 
sent  for  to  Cambiaso's  state-room.  Mr. 
Dunn  had  of  late  always  been  called 
upon  to  accompany  me  when  Cambiaso 
sent  for  .me  to  deliver  orders ;  my  broken 
Spanish  seeming  to  irritate  him,  and  Mr. 
Dunn  serving  as  interpreter  to  render 
my  orders  more  clear  to  me.  Cam- 
biaso received  us  very  cordially,  asked 
us  to  be  seated,  and  began  by  express- 
ing himself  very  well  satisfied  with  the 
skill    I    had    shown    in    navigating    tho 


CAPT.  CHAELES  H.  BROWN.     159 

vessel.  He  was  even  jocose,  asking  me 
if  I  was  a  good  shot- with  a  pistol, 
since  he  had  an  idea  of  fighting  a  duel 
with  me  ;  then,  pointing  to  a  bottle  of 
champaigne  which  stood  on  the  table, 
he  said,  "  That  is  the  pistol  I  mean  we 
shall  exchange  shots  with  ; "  and  drawing 
the  cork,  he  made  us  both  drink  with 
him.  Then  turning  to  Mr.  Dunn,  he 
said,  "  My  good  friend  Sir  Captain  is 
troubled  about  the  rascals  I  left  at 
Wood's  Bay  ;  he  does  not  know,  as  you 
and  I  do,  that  there's  only  one  way  to 
get  along  with  such  men.  They  are 
devils,  and  nothing  is  too  hard  for 
them.  One  must  take  care  of  himself 
in   this   world." 

Mr.  Dunn  told  him  that  I  had  hesi- 
tated about  putting  out  from  the  harbor 
because  the  night  was  so  murky,  and 
the  navigation  intricate  ;   and    that  I  was 


160         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

afraid  of  running  the  vessel  on  the 
shore.  Cambiaso  shook  his  head :  "  No, 
no  ;  you  are  both  of  you  tender-hearted 
as  women.  I  suppose  you  would  be 
frightened  now,  if  you  saw  blood  shed, 
but  one  can't  always  get  along  without 
it." 

I  answered  that  I  could  fight  as  well 
as  another  man,  when  I  saw  need  for 
it ;  but  that  I  did  not  like  leaving  the 
English  mate  and  crew,  nor  even  his 
followers  to  starve,  or  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  This  made  him 
laugh  heartily ;  but  suddenly  changing 
the  subject,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  a 
wife  and  children.  "  Yes,"  I  said,  "  in 
my  own  country."  "How  many  little 
ones  ? "  he  rejoined ;  "  and  I  suppose 
you  would  like  to  sec  them  again  ? 
Well,  you  must  do  without  that  for 
Bome   time   yet ;   but    if  you    will    follow 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BEX)WN.  161 

my  orders,  you  shall  go  home  with 
money  enough  to  stay  with  them  always." 
I  answered  that  I  had  obeyed  his 
orders  since  I  had  agreed  to,  and  that 
I  should  continue  to  navigate  the  vessel 
as  well  as  I  could,  if  that  was  what  he 
wanted  from  me.  "  Yes,"  replied  he, 
when  my  friend  had  interpreted  this 
answer  to  him,  "  Yes,  yes,  that  is  what 
1  want  of  you  for  the  present,  and  I 
promise  you  both  that  I  will  not  give 
you  any  fighting  to  do ;  all  I  ask  of 
you  is  to  stand  by,  and  not  be  fright- 
ened if  you  see  any  blood  spilled."  We 
made  no  reply  to  this ;  when,  after 
pausing  a  moment,  and  glancing  at  us 
from  under  his  long,  veiling  lashes,  he 
said,  "  I  will  make  it  worth  your  while, 
captain  Brown,  to  follow  me,  and  yours 
too,  Sir  Secretary.  If  you  obey  my 
orders,  and    land    me    safe    at  my   desti- 


162        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

nation,  you  shall  go  home  to  your  wife 
and  little  ones  with  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  captain;  and  you  (to  Mr.  Dunn,) 
shall  have  six  thousand,  if  you  interpret 
for  me  faithfully."  He  rose  as  he  said 
this,  and  pointed  out  of  the  cabin,  say- 
ing as  we  left  him,  that  all  he  wanted 
was   that   we   should   be   true  to   him. 

It  was  then  late  into  the  night,  but 
instead  of  retiring,  Mr.  Dunn  and  my- 
self walked  to  the  side  of  the  vessel, 
out  of  hearing  of  the  watch  and  the 
few  soldiers  listening  about  the  deck,  to 
talk  over  our  interview  with  the  gen- 
eral. "We  knew  that  those  around  us 
were  aware  that  we  had  been  sent  for 
by  Cambiaso,  and  had  been  with  him 
for  some  time ;  therefore  it  would  be 
natural  for  them  to  suppose  that  we  * 
would  wish  to  talk  of  what  we  had 
heard   from   him,  and   it  was   very  seldom 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  163 

that  we  had  an  opportuuity  of  exchang- 
ing even  a  few  words  without  feeling 
that  we  were  suspected  by  our  watchful 
jailors. 

I  told  Mr.  Dunn  at  once  that  I  did 
not  like  Cambiaso's  conversation  ;  I  did 
not  trust  his  apparent  friendliness  for  a 
moment;  indeed,  I  believed  that  it  was 
all  assumed  to  deceive  us,  and  hide  his 
real  intentions. 

* 

"But,"  replied  Mr.  Dunn,  "he  cannot 
do  without  you  as  long  as  he  remains 
on  board  the  Florida,  and  now  that  he 
has  abandoned  the  colony  and  left  the 
brig  behind,  he  must  have  some  port  in 
view."  "Yes,"  said  I,  "he  will  use  us 
as  long  as  he  wants  us ;  but  depend 
upon  it,  he  will  never  let  us  escape 
alive  to  any  place  where  we  can  put 
the  officers  of  justice  on  his  track.  De- 
pend  upon   it,  all   this   was   to   blind  us  ; 


164         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

he  has  some  devilish  plan  in  his  head ; 
he  will  do  something  with  us  very- 
soon." 

Mr.  Dunn  looked  anxiously  serious  as 
he  said,  "  I  more  than  half  agree  with 
you  ;  the  villain  was  half  intoxicated 
this  evening,  and  let  out  more  than  he 
meant  to.  Did  you  see  his  face  when 
he  promised  us  the  money?  But  what 
plans  can  he  have?  What  port  does 
ho   intend   to   make  ? " 

This  brought  to  my  mind  a  conversa- 
tion I  had  held  a  few  days  before  with 
one  of  the  officers,  Cambiaso's  chief  ad- 
viser and  confidant,  and  a  man  who 
before  this  had  scarcely  exchanged  a 
word  with  me.  He,  through  the  help 
of  one  of  the  sailors,  a  Chilian,  but 
who  talked  English  tolerably  well,  had 
questioned  mo  about  the  lay  of  the 
shore   around    Rio    Janeiro,   and    the   ap- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     165 

proach  to  that  port,  the  landing,  and 
so  forth.  This  I  repeated  to  Mr.  Dunn, 
and  putting  that  conversation  with  Cam- 
biaso's  entire  change  of  orders  since  we 
first  left  the  colony,  his  evident  inten- 
tions of  continuing  his  course  eastward, 
the  amount  of  food  which  he  had  stored 
in  the  Florida,  and  other  slight  indica- 
tions of  the  same  sort,  we  felt  that  Rio 
Janeiro  was  his  destination,  and  that 
we  had   some   clue   to   his   plans. 

Still,  I  was  convinced,  and  at  last 
succeeded  in  convincing  Mr.  Dunn,  that 
his  friendly  expressions  towards  us,  and 
his  offers  of  money  were  entirely  in- 
sincere ;  his  bids  were  altogether  too 
high.  I  knew  that  all  the  treasure  on 
the  vessel  did  not  amount  to  more  than 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  and  of  that  he 
would  hardly  give  twenty-six  thousand 
to    men    whom    he    had    entirely    within 


166        IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

his  power ;  and  give  it,  too,  when  he 
had  no  longer  any  further  use  for  them. 
Long  afterwards,  and  on  my  return  to 
Valparaiso,  I  found  that  my  suspicions 
were  'correct  ;  for  I  learned  from  Garcia 
and  the  other  ofl&cer  of  Cambiaso,  both 
of  whom  were  pardoned  by  the  Chilian 
government,  that  Cambiaso's  plan  had 
been  to  take  the  Florida  to  some  part 
of  the  Brazilian  coast  that  was  unin- 
habited, probably  on  the  inhospitable 
shores  of  the  province  of  Santa  Catha- 
rina,  there  to  compel  most  of  his  fol- 
lowers and  prisoners  to  land  and  shift 
for  themselves ;  using  some  such  strata- 
gem as  that  which  had  been  so  success- 
ful at  Cape  Holland  ;  and  to  keep  on 
the  vessel  only  his  intimate  friends,  and 
myself  and  crew.  On  reaching  the 
harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro,  and  coming  near 
enough    to   gain    the    shore    in    the   boats, 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     167 

he  and  his  companions  were  to  murder 
myself  and  crew,  scuttle  the  vessel,  and 
with  the  treasure,  make  their  escape 
to  the  port  ;  there,  dividing  the  booty, 
they  were  to  disperse,  Cambiaso  himself 
intending  to  take  passage  in  the  steamer 
for  Europe,  and  his  officers  to  seek 
whatever  foreign  country  might  please 
them  and  seem  a  safe  refuge  for  them. 

Mr.  Dunn  and  myself  parted,  with  our 
distrust  of  Cambiaso  confirmed,  and  with 
a  renewed  determination  to  strain  every 
nerve  to  escape  from  his  hands.  After 
I  reached  my  berth,  and  as  I  lay  tossing 
and  revolving  our  perils,  the  thought 
struck  me  that  it  might  be  possible  to 
re-take  the  vessel.  A  thousand  diffi- 
culties and  dangers  started  up  to  in- 
timidate me,  but  the  possibility  of  suc- 
cess seemed  to  overbalance  all  uncer- 
tainties,   and    I    spent    the    rest    of    the 


168      IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

night  in  laying  my  plans,  in  measuring 
the  chances  of  resolution  and  fidelity 
amongst  my  crew,  and  in  estimating  the 
probability  of  our  being  joined  by  any 
of  the   released   prisoners. 

By  the  morning,  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  to  the  attempt,  and  rose  with  a 
determination  to  lose  no  time,  but  to 
effect  it,  if  possible,   that  very   day. 


CHAPTER      YIII. 

The  ro-taking  of  the  vessel  planned  —  Mr.  Dunn — Captain 
Avalos  —  Preito  —  The  corporal  —  Three  bells  —  The  strug- 
gle —  Cambiaso  overpowered  —  Garcia —  Cheers  for  victory 
—  The  crew  swear  fidelity  to  rae  —  Our  course  —  Cambiaso 
put  in  irons  —  His  cowardice  —  The  prisoners  from  the 
hold  —  River  Gallegos  —  Voyage  round  Cape  Horn  —  At- 
tempted outbreaks  —  Our  danger —  We  reach  San  Carlos. 

"Wednesday,  the  14th  of  January,  we 
left  Cape  Gregory  behind  us,  and  con- 
tinued our  course  eastward,  towards  the 
eastern  entrance  of  the  Straits.  I  sought 
Mr.  Dunn  early  in  the  morning,  and 
conimunicated  my  determination  to  him. 
I  found  him  ready  and  willing  to  sus- 
tain me  in  the  attempt,  and  that  he 
agreed  with  me  that  the  sooner  it  was 
made,     the    better ;     so,    determining     to 

hurry     things     on,     we     parted  —  he     to 
15 


170       IMPRISONMENT     AND     ESCAPE     OP 

sound   such  of  the  prisoners   and  soldiers 
as   we   thought  would  join   us. 

There  were  several  of  my  crew  in 
whom  I  could  not  put  confidence,  they 
being  too  frequently  seen  holding  con- 
fidential conversations  with  Cambiaso's 
followers ;  so  that  after  some  delibera- 
tion, I  determined  not  to  entrust  our 
plans  to  any  of  the  men,  lest  those 
whose  fidelity  we  doubted  should  hear 
of  them,  and  betray  us  to  Cambiaso ; 
but  in  the  course  of  the  morning  I 
spoke  to  those  whom  I  could  trust,  and 
asked  them  separately  if  they  would 
stand  by  me  in  trouble,  and  obey  my 
orders.  They  all  answered  that  they 
were  ready  ;  and  one  of  them,  with  an 
oath,  added,  "  Till  death,  captain  1 "  Cap- 
tain Avalos  we  managed  to  speak  to 
during  the  morning,  and  found  him  as 
ready   as   we  were. 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  171 

The  day  wore  on  anxiously  enough 
for  us,  for  we  felt  that  the  struggle  that 
was  approaching  was  a  matter  of  life 
and  death  with  us ;  one  false  step,  and 
we  were  lost ;  one  careless  or  treach- 
erous word  breathed  by  those  whom  we 
were  compelled  to  trust,  and  we  were 
at  the  mercy  of  those  villains,  whom  no 
sense  of  humanity  could  restrain.  The 
weather  was  fine,  and  the  wind  favor- 
able ;  and,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  we  passed  Cape  Pos- 
session, leaving  it  to  the  north-west.  I 
was  on  deck  with  the  larboard  watch, 
when  Mr.  Dunn  told  me  that  he  had 
secured  the  assistance  of  twelve  besides 
myself.  These  were  some  of  the  soldiers 
under  captain  Avalos ;  some  prisoners 
who  had  come  down  with  us,  and  who 
had  proved  themselves  so  friendly  during 
our    confinement  at   Sandy   Bay ;    and  one 


172         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

or  two  of  Cambiaso's  own  followers, 
who  had  expressed  dissatisfaction  at  his 
tyranny,  and  to  whom  Mr.  Dunn  had 
held  out  the  prospect  of  pardon,  if 
we  should  succeed  in  our  undertaking. 
Among  them  was  my  former  guard, 
Preito,  to  whom  I  was  indebted  for  the 
hymn  book,  which  proved  so  great  a 
source  of  consolation.  We  laid  our 
plans  most  cautiously.  Captain  Avalos 
and  his  soldiers  were  to  secure  the  oflS- 
cers  in  the  cabin,  while  Mr.  Dunn  and 
myself  were  to  guard  the  deck.  To 
the  corporal  who  had  defended  himself 
so  bravely  at  the  time  the  Florida  was 
seized,  and  who  refused  to  deliver  up 
his  gun  except  to  my  order,  I  gave  the 
attack  on  Cambiaso  himself;  for  during 
our  whole  imprisonment,  he  had  mani- 
fested such  a  detestation  of  him  that  I 
really    believed     he     would     have     eaten 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H,     BROWN.  173 

him  up  alive,  if  he  could  have  got  at 
him. 

During  the  evening,  Cambiaso  and  his 
officers  sat  around  the  table  in  the  after 
cabin,  engaged  in  their  usual  occupation 
of  gambling ;  and  every  glance  which  I 
cast  in  upon  them  showed  me  their  dark, 
fierce  countenances,  while  the  sound  of 
their  oaths  and  laughter  struck  my  ear. 
Without,  all  was  still  and  peaceful  ;  the 
barque  gliding  swiftly  through  the  wa- 
ter, with  a  free  wind  and  a  pleasant 
breeze.  I  watched  the  strange  looking 
southern  stars  which  looked  down  upon 
us  from  their  quiet  skies,  with  a  strange 
impatience   at   their   peaceful   calmness. 

By   eleven,   the  gamblers  began   to  rise 

from  the   table,  and    one  by   one    retired 

to     their     state-rooms ;     and     when     the 

sound   of  eight  bells  proclaimed  midnight, 

all    was    still   and    quiet  around    us.      I 
15* 


174         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

sent  the  larboard  watch  below,  telling 
them  only  that  they  must  be  prepared  to 
come  on  deck  if  they  heard  me  call. 
The  starboard  watch  then  came  up,  but 
I  did  not  inform  them  of  my  plans 
then.  The  signal  was  to  be  three  bells, 
or  as  a  landsman  would  say,  the  striking 
of  half-past  one  in  the  morning.  The 
forward  hatch  was  closed,  and  the 
guarding  of  the  after  hatch  was  to  be 
given  to  Mr.  Dunn  and  myself.  Two 
bells  told  us  that  one  o'clock  had  ar- 
rived, and  all  were  at  their  posts,  — 
captain  Avalos  and  his  men  ready  at 
the  cabin  door.  Not  a  sound  was  to 
be  heard  save  the  ticking  of  the  watch 
in  the  cabin,  and  the  rustling  of  the 
water  as  it  broke  round  the  bows  of 
the  vessel.  Both  sounds  struck  on  my 
ear  with  painful  acuteness.  At  last, 
three  bells   rung   out,   and   the    rush    was 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  175 

made  in  the  cabin ;  —  at  the  same  mo- 
ment I  shouted,  "  All  hands  tumble  up ! " 
and  in  a  moment  my  crew  was  around 
me.  Mr.  Dunn  and  myself  were  at  the 
after  hatch,  and  as  the  noise  of  the 
struggle  reached  the  men  between  decks, 
we  shouted  that  we  were  armed,  and 
had  the  vessel,  and  that  the  first  one 
who  appeared  at.  the  gangway  should  be 
shot   down. 

The  struggle  in  the  cabin  went  on. 
Avalos  had  stationed  his  men  so  that 
each  state-room  door  was  broken  in  at 
the  same  moment,  and  some  of  the  oc- 
cupants were  secured  before  they  were 
well  awake.  Cambiaso  struggled  hard, 
but  was  at  last  overcome  and  bound 
with  cords,  for  irons  we  had  none. 
During  the  fifteen  minutes  that  the 
struggle  below  lasted,  we  were  in  sus- 
pense  on   deck,   not   daring   to   leave   our 


176         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

posts,  but  knowing  that  all  depended  on 
captain  Avalos's  success.  At  last  he 
appeared,  with  a  shout ;  all  were  se- 
cured without  the  loss  of  a  life  —  not 
even  a  drop  of  blood  spilled.  Then 
rose  three  times  three  cheers  for  our 
victory,  which  rung  through  the  vessel, 
and  announced  our  success  to  the  pris- 
oners  below. 

But  our  work  was  not  over.  Captain 
Avalos  and  his  men  collected  all  the 
pistols,  cutlasses,  guns,  and  so  forth, 
which  could  be  found,  and  carried  them 
into  the  cabin,  loading  tlie  muskets  and 
pistols,  while  I  called  my  men  aft,  and 
asked  them  if  they  would  stand  by  me 
in  defending  the  vessel  and  taking  her 
into  port.  They  promised  with  most 
eager  anxiety  ;  and  Mr.  Dunn  and  cap- 
tain Avalos  coming  forward,  added  to 
their   enthusiasm   by  pledging    their   lives 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     177 

to  sustain  me  in  holding  the  vessel, 
and  putting  themselves  entirely  under 
my   orders. 

I  then  hove  the  main-top-sail  to  the 
mast  till  our  course  was  decided,  and 
called  a  council  as  to  our  best  course. 
Some  of  the  party  proposed  returning  to 
Sandy  Bay,  where  we  could  defend  our- 
selves in  the  barracks ;  others  to  push 
on  for  the  coast  of  Brazil  and  make 
the  first  port  there ;  but  I  told  them 
we  had  not  water  enough  to  go  very 
far,  and  suggested  that  we  should  make 
for  the  nearest  watering  place,  the  river 
Gallegos,  lying  in  lat.  51°  39'  S.— 
Ion.  G9°  W.,  on  the  east  coast  of  Pat- 
agonia ;  there  take  in  a  fresh  supply  of 
water,  and  shape  our  course  round  Cape 
Horn  for  Valparaiso.  To  return  to 
Sandy  Bay  seemed  to  me  to  put  our- 
selves   directly    into    the    hands    of    the 


178         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

pirates  who  were  behind  us,  and  who 
could  easily  overpower  us,  and  release 
their  leaders  and  companions.  If  we 
attempted  to  reach  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
it  seemed  to  me  impossible  that  we 
should  be  able  to  hold  the  vessel  during 
so  long  a  voyage,  as  we  had  no  irons 
to  secure  our  prisoners,  and  no  men  to 
spare  to  guard  them ;  whereas,  the  tell- 
ing them  that  we  were  taking  them  to 
Valparaiso  would  probably  satisfy  all  but 
the   ring-leaders. 

My  plan  was  adopted  ;  and  as  we 
had  a  fair  wind,  I  squared  the  yards 
and   started   at  once  for   the   river. 

The  whole  forenoon  of  tlic  15th  was 
spent  in  preparing  irons  for  Cambiaso, 
Garcia,  and  others  confined  in  the  state- 
rooms. Wlien  they  were  finished,  the 
corporal  and  some  others  entered  Cani- 
biaso's    state-room     to    put    them   on    liis 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  179 

hands  and  feet.  He  lay  on  his  bed, 
bound  hand  and  foot  with  cords,  and 
as  we  entered  and  commenced  putting 
on  the  irons,  he  said,  "  Are  you  going 
to  shoot  me?  Let  me  have  fifteen  min- 
utes to  prepare."  They  gave  him  no 
answer  ;  but  after  securing  him  they 
left  the  state-room,  and  placed  his  en- 
emy the  corporal,  with  another  soldier, 
well  armed,  at  his  door,  with  orders  to 
shoot  him  at  once  if  any  disturbance 
should  break  out  amongst  the  prisoners. 
We  took  care  that  he  should  hear  our 
order,  which  captain  Avalos  repeated 
aloud   in   Spanish. 

Cambiaso  showed  more  cowardice  than 
I  expected  in  his  fear  of  death ;  but 
even  before  us  he  seemed  to  keep  his 
courage   up  by   a   sort   of  bravado. 

From  his  room,  which  was  one  of  the 
after   state-rooms,  we    went    to    Garcia's 


180         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

whom  -we  found  lying  very  quiet.  He 
said  nothing,  but  held  his  hands  so  as 
to  make  it  easier  to  adjust  the  hand- 
cuffs. The  other  officers  were  ironed 
and  locked  into  their  state-rooms,  and 
as  heavy  a  guard  as  we  could  spare, 
detached   for   the   cabin. 

After  the  officers  were  secured,  we 
opened  the  hatchway,  and  allowed  the 
prisoners  below  to  come  up  in  small 
detachments  at  a  time.  We  continued 
this  during  the  voyage,  as  they  were  so 
crowded  below  that  we  felt  this  was 
necessary  to  escape  the  danger  of  sick- 
ness and  contagion ;  but  we  never  did 
it   without  great  risk   and   great  anxiety. 

Before  noon  on  this  day,  the  15th,  the 
wind  shifted  ahead,  and  we  made  slow 
work  all  that  day  and  night,  and  barely 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  river  Gallegos 
by   noon   of  the  IGth. 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     181 

As  we  came  off  the  moiitli  of  the 
river,  I  found  the  wind  well  to  the 
eastward,  blowing  fresh  on  shore ;  and 
I  hesitated  about  attempting  to  land,  es- 
pecially as  there  was  likely  to  be  con- 
siderable sea  on  shore.  After  some 
consideration,  I  determined  to  tack  ship 
and  go  south,  trusting  to  finding  some 
watering  place  along  the  coast  which 
we  could  make  in  more  favorable  weather. 
As  we  tacked  ship,  this  seeming  to  me 
the  starting  for  home,  we  fired  as  a 
salute,  the  guns  which  had  been  loaded 
with  double  balls  by  Cambiaso,  and 
hoisted  the  American  ensign  which  I 
had  kept  so  long  concealed.  I  had 
great  hopes  of  meeting  some  American 
or  English  vessel  in  my  passing  round 
the  cape,  from  which  I  might  obtain 
some    assistance.      It    was    not    so     very 

long   since    the    Virago    had    left    Sandy 
16 


182         IMPBISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Bay,  and  I  hoped  that  she  or  some 
other  armed  vessel  might  be  cruising  in 
these  seas. 

After  the  salute,  I  had  my  guns  care- 
fully re-loaded  again,  and  the  strictest 
discipline  maintained  on  board.  In  this 
I  was  admirably  aided  by  captain  Ava- 
los,  whose  soldiers  were  kept  constantly 
on  the  alert ;  and  by  Mr.  Dunn,  who 
worked  with  me  heart  and  hand.  Cam- 
biaso  was  strictly  confined  to  his  state- 
room, and  allowed  no  communication 
with  any  one.  The  other  officers  we 
sometimes  allowed  to  come  on  deck  for 
air  and  exercise  for  a  short  time,  at- 
tended by  a  guard  ;  but  never  when 
any  of  the  prisoners  from  below  were 
up.  The  odds  against  us  were  fearful : 
two  hundred  and  two  prisoners,  to  about 
twenty-two  men  to  guard  and  provide 
for  them,   and  navigate   the  vessel. 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  183 

The  cleaning  of  the  steerage  I  was 
obliged  to  compel  the  prisoners  to  attend 
to,  by  constant  threats  of  punishment 
for  neglect.  The  stench  which  came  up 
from  the  hold  was  sometimes  insupport- 
able. The  whole  care  of  providing  for 
the  crew  and  prisoners  I  left  in  the 
hands  of  my  faithful  steward,  and  he 
performed  his  task  well,  laboring  with 
unwearied  diligence.  Sometimes  the  wo- 
men among  the  prisoners  were  allowed 
to  come  up  and  cook  for  their  hus- 
bands. 

The  treasure  which  was  in  Cambiaso's 
state-room  was  transferred  to  the  cabin 
for  safe  keeping,  under  the  guardianship 
of  Mr.    Dunn   and   captain    Avalos. 

During  our  passage  round  the  cape,  we 
had  rather  pleasant  weather,  with  but 
few  exceptions ;  but  very  few  fair  winds. 
This   increased  the  length  of  our   voyage, 


184        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

and  every  day  saw  us  more  -worn  out 
with  anxiety  and  watchfulness.  For  my- 
self, I  never  had  my  clothes  off  during 
the  whole  passage  ;  nor  did  I  ever  ven- 
ture to  retire  to  my  state-room  for  a 
night's  sleep ,  —  taking  what  rest  I  could 
snatch  sitting  on  a  chair  in  the  cabin, 
where  I   could  be  roused  at  any  moment. 

In  passing  Cape  St.  Johns,  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  Straits,  on  the 
evening  of  January  20th,  we  encountered 
a  heavy  gale  of  wind  from  the  west- 
south-west,  which  continued,  with  a  rough 
sea,  for  some  days.  During  the  gale 
we   lost   the   head   rails. 

On  February  1st,  another  gale,  far 
heavier  than  the  last,  caused  us  to  ship 
a  great  deal  of  water  in  the  cabin. 
There  was  no  real  danger,  but  I  never 
saw  follows  more  frightened  than  were 
our   prisoners,   as    the   water    came    dash- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  185 

ing  through  their  state-room  -windows. 
For  Cambiaso,  he  was  a  perfect  coward 
wheu  he  was  sea-sick.  Nine  days  after- 
wards we  were  in  real  danger ;  as  a 
sudden  squall  struck  the  vessel,  and 
broke  the  main-yards  in  the  slings. 
When  the  gale  abated,  we  got  a  spare 
yard  ready,  and  were  soon  in  sailing 
order   again. 

We  were  disappointed  in  our  hopes 
of  meeting  with  any  vessels  from  which 
we  could  obtain  relief ;  and  we  had 
experienced  great  difficulty  in  finding  a 
watering  place  ;  so  that  by  the  time  we 
reached  the  western  extremity  of  the 
Straits,  I  found  myself  so  short  of  water 
that  I  determined  to  abandon  my  in- 
tention of  going  to  Valparaiso,  and  to 
make  San  Carlos,  the  port  on  the  north- 
ern  extremity    of    the    island   of    Chiloe. 

This   course   seemed    to    me    more    neces- 
16* 


186         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

sary,  as  I  doubted  our  ability  to  keep 
the  prisoners  under  for  many  days  longer, 
there  having  been  already  two  attempts 
to  rise  among  them,  only  kept  down  by 
our  prompt  watchfulness.  The  most  des- 
perate among  them  were  either  fearful 
of  coming  within  the  reach  of  the  arm 
of  the  law,  or  were  tempted  by  the 
treasure  which  lay  almost  within  their 
grasp.  I  think  nothing  had  so  much 
effect  in  restraining  them  as  the  perfect 
fearlessness  with  which  I  moved  about 
among  them,  and  the  apparent  confidence 
with  which  I  issued  ray  orders  — direct- 
ing the  prisoners  in  the  hold  to  come 
on  deck,  to  go  to  the  galley  for  their 
mess,  to  clean  out  their  quarters,  and  so 
forth  —  as  if  I  were  perfectly  sure  that 
I   should   be  obeyed. 

During   the   last   few   days   of    our   pas- 
sage,   I    had    been    alarmed    by   noticing 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  187 

words  passing  between  some  of  the  sol- 
diers who  were  on  guard,  and  the 
prisoners,  as  they  came  up  on  deck  for 
their  daily  walk.  There  was  evidently 
another  outbreak  in  contemplation.  I 
communicated  my  suspicions  to  my  friends, 
and   we   redoubled  our  vigilance. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  in  the 
evening,  as  the  altered  course  of  the 
vessel  must  have  informed  some  of  them 
that  we  were  nearing  port,  a  larger 
party  than  usual  made  their  appearance 
on  deck,  armed  with  whatever  weapons 
they  could  collect  from  below.  Some 
of  the  cutlasses  and  other  weapons  be- 
longing to  the  rebels  we  had  never  been 
able  to  obtain,  they  having  secreted 
them. 

My  crew  were  stationed  at  their  posts 
on  deck,  and  armed  ;  and  captain  Ava- 
los  ordered  his    men    to    load    up    their 


188         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

muskets  in  the  presence  of  the  prisoners. 
About  ten  o'clock,  three  of  our  own 
men  deliberately  left  their  places  and 
walked  over  to  the  ranks  of  the  pris- 
oners. We  withdrew  to  the  cabin,  and 
stood  with  our  loaded  pistols  and  mus- 
kets in  our  hands,  and  our  drawn 
swords,  with  other  loaded  pistols,  lying 
on  the  table  within  our  reach.  Under 
the  table  was  the  box  in  which  the 
treasure   was  nailed   up. 

About  eighteen  of  the  rioters  advanced 
to "  the  entrance  of  the  cabin  ;  but  seeing 
our  strong  position  and  our  formidable 
weapons,  they  paused  irresolute.  Among 
them  were  the  three  deserters  from  our 
party.  One  of  them  I  called  by  name, 
opening  the  door  of  my  state-room  and 
beckoning  him  in.  lie  stepped  forward 
much  agitated,  and  entered  with  me. 
His    agitation     showed    me    that    I    had 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  189 

little  to  fear  froiji  him  ;  and  a  few 
words  of  surprise  at  his  conduct  and  of 
promises  to  forget  it,  brought  him  over 
to  our  side.  As  he  left  the  door  of 
the  state-room  and  joined  our  party,  the 
rioters  fell  back,  evidently  cowed,  and 
one  by  one  slunk  again  into  their  places 
in  the  hold.  By  eleven  o'clock  all  was 
quiet,   and  we  breathed  freely   again. 

I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that 
Cambiaso,  Garcia,  or  any  of  the  officers 
were  concerned  in  this  outbreak ;  it  was 
concerted  entirely  among  the  men,  who 
were  probably  instigated  by  their  desire 
to   obtain  possession  of  the   treasure. 

That  night  was  an  anxious  one  to  us. 
We  were  nearing  the  port,  and  our  ap- 
proach to  land  was  known  to  the  crew, 
and  probably  to  many  of  the  prisoners ; 
every  moment  we  were  liable  to  another 
outbreak    more    desperate    than   the   last, 


190      IMPKISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE,    ETC. 

as  the  ringleaders  ^mong  the  prisoners 
must  have  been  sensible  that  their  last 
chance  of  escape  was  fast  passing  avray  ; 
but  all  was  quiet  ;  and  the  morning  of 
the  14th  of  February,  1852,  dawned,  to 
show  us  the  port  of  San  Carlos  almost 
within   our   reach. 

Before  dark  we  were  beating  into  the 
harbor  with  the  American  ensign  flying 
at   the  spanker  gaff. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Reports  of  the  revolt  reach  San  Carlos  —  American  lilinister 
sends  assistance  —  Chilian  Government  despatches  forces 
for  the  Straits  —  The  Virago  —  Fears  of  the  inhabitants  of 
San  Carlos  —  I  deliver  the  Florida  to  the  Chilian  authorities 
—  Arrival  of  the  E.  Cornish  —  The  Virago  takes  the  pris- 
oners and  treasm-e  —  Passage  to  Valparaiso — Protest  and 
claim  of  salvage — Mr.  Duer — Don  Antonio  Varas  —  In- 
justice done  me  by  the  Chilian  government — The  British 
Admiral  claims  the  treasure — I  protest  again  —  Compro- 
mise—  Don  Antonio  denies  all  claim — My  claims  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  United  States  Authorities. 

Early  in  January,  about  a  month  before 
our  arrival,  the  news  of  the  insurrection 
in  the  Straits  had  spread  some  alarm 
through  San  Carlos  and  other  southern 
Pacific  ports.  The  first  report  was 
brought  by  two  of  the  soldiers  who  es- 
caped   from    the    colony    with    the    gov- 


192         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

ernor,  and  had  not  been  captured  by 
Cambiaso.  They  had  witnessed  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Florida  and  the  Eliza 
Cornish,  from  their  hiding  place  among 
the  bushes  around  the  cantonment ;  had 
even  lurked  in  the  vicinity  long  enough 
to  witness  the  embarkation  of  the  col- 
onists and  the  abandonment  of  the  col- 
ony ;  then,  through  incredible  hardships, 
had  found  their  way  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  been  taken  off  from  thence  by 
some  passing  vessel,  and  carried  to  San 
Carlos.  Their  report  was  that  Cam- 
biaso had  turned  pirate,  and  was  coming 
to  San   Carlos   to   take  the  port. 

The  intelligence  they  brought  had  been 
transmitted  to  Valparaiso,  with  a  de- 
scription of  the  vessels ;  both  of  which 
were  said  to  belong  to  the  United 
States.  Additional  forces  had  been  sent 
to   San    Carlos,  and  an    official  communi- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWX.  193 

cation  sent  from  the  commander  general 
of  marines,  at  Valparaiso,  to  the  Amer- 
ican consul  there,  and  from  thence  to 
colonel  Balie  Peyton,  the  American  Min- 
ister at  Santiago.  Col.  Peyton  imme- 
diately sent  orders  to  Callao  that  the 
U.  S.  frigate  "Raritan"  should  proceed 
in  search  of  the  two  vessels ;  and  a 
request  was  also  sent  to  the  Englfsh 
Admiral  at  Valparaiso,  that  the  "  Vi- 
rago "  might  be  allowed  to  go  again  to 
the  Straits,  and  render  such  assistance 
to  the  colonists  and  vessels  as  might  be 
needed.  Some  French  and  Swedish  ves- 
sels then  in  port  also  went  out  on  the 
search. 

The  Chilian  authorities  despatched  two 
Chilian  men-of-war,  and  some  Chilian 
troops  under  Don  Santiago  Jorge  Bynon, 
The  troops  were  put  on  board  the  Chi- 
lian men-of-war  ;  the  latter  on  board  the 
17 


194         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Virago,  on  the  same  service.  The  Eng- 
lish steamer  proceeded  immediately  to 
the  Straits,  and  it  was  to  be  hoped  that 
her  officers  would  learn  a  lesson  from 
experience,  and  prove  themselves  more 
sharp  sighted  than  they  had  done  a 
month  before,  in  their  former  visit  to 
the   colony. 

The  news  that  the  Florida  had  arrived 
off  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  filled  the 
people  of  San  Carlos  with  consternation, 
which  not  even  the  sight  of  the  Amer- 
ican flag  and  my  signals  of  distress 
served  to  dissipate  entirely.  We  lay 
off  the  harbor  some  six  or  seven  miles 
from  the  town,  with  the  wind  ahead, 
blowing  off  from  the  harbor,  and  the 
tide   against   us. 

About  sunset,  a  boat  came  near  us 
with  six  persons  in  her,  and  lay  on  lier 
oars   within   hailing   distance.      Some  one 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     195 

from  her  hailed  us  in  English,  and  asked 
•where  we  were  from.  This  boat  had 
in  her  the  captain  of  the  port,  who  had 
put  off  to  reconnoitre,  and  now  seeing 
so  many  people  on  deck,  was  afraid  to 
come  nearer.  I  answered  him  from  the 
Florida,  saying  that  I  had  come  into 
the  port  in  distress,  having  Cambiaso  a 
prisoner  on  board,  and  that  I  was  anxious 
to  go  on  shore  at  once  to  see  the  In- 
tendente  of  the  port,  and  deliver  up  my 
vessel  to  him ;  as  I  was  unable  to 
protect  it  any  longer.  This  relieved 
his  fears,  and  he  came  alongside.  I 
had  prepared  every  thing  for  my  leaving 
the  vessel  in  safety  ;  knowing  that  the 
prisoners  would  not  dare  to  make  an- 
other outbreak  within  the  harbor,  with 
the  guns  of  the  Chilian  war  vessels 
around  them.  The  captain  of  the  port 
left    a    pilot    on     board,   and    took    Mr. 


196        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Dunn,  captain  Avalos,  and  myself  into 
his  boat.  We  were  landed  on  the  quay 
at  about  nine  o'clock. 

We  went  immediately  to  the  Inten- 
dente,  the  captain  of  the  port  accompa- 
nying us  almost  on  a  run,  shouting  out 
as  he  passed  through  the  streets,  "  Cam- 
biaso  is  taken!  —  he  is  here!  —  he  is  a 
prisoner  1  "  By  the  time  that  we  reached 
the  Intendente's  house  we  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  crowd  of  the  inhabitants 
of  San  Carlos,  asking  questions  and 
shouting  out  their  exultation.  Our  ar- 
rival had  excited  such  alarm  that  the 
troops  had  been  ordered  out.  I  told 
my  story  to  tlie  Intcndente,  representing 
to  liim  the  worn  out  condition  of  my 
crew,  and  the  necessity  there  was  for 
sending  them  immediate  aid.  lie  sent 
at  once  for  the  commander  of  the  forces 
on   shore,   and    the    captain    of    the   Chi- 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  197 

lian  vessel  of  war,  "  Indefatigable,"  then 
lying  in  the  harbor.  They  agreed  that 
the  troops  and  the  Indefatigable  should 
immediately  take  possession  of  the  Flor- 
ida ;  and  by  twelve  at  night,  a  guard 
of  twenty-five  soldiers,  with  their  officer, 
was  placed  over  the  prisoners  on  my 
vessel,  while  the  Indefatigable  lay  by 
her   side. 

As  we  left  the  Intendente's  house,  Mr. 
Dunn  was  greeted  on  every  side  by 
warm  friends,  all  rejoicing  to  see  him 
alive  once  more,  and  eager  to  hear  our 
story  and  to  extend  the  hospitalities  of 
their  houses  to  us.  Indeed,  during  the 
few  days  that  I  remained  in  San  Carlos 
I  experienced  the  greatest  hospitality 
and  kindness  from  the  inhabitants  of 
the  place.  Every  house  was  thrown 
open    to    me    and     to    my    friends  ;     our 

immediate    wants    of    clothing    and    per- 
17* 


198         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

sonal  comforts  supplied  ;  and  every  thing 
done  to  make  us  look  back  to  the  time 
passed   there   with  grateful    remembrance. 

I  experienced  here  a  singular  result 
from  the  great  anxiety  and  excitement 
which  I  had  undergone.  Instead  of 
being  overcome  with  fatigue,  and  en- 
joying the  rest  which  I  so  much  needed, 
and  for  which  I  had  so  longed,  my 
state  of  excitement  continued.  I  scarcely 
needed  rest,  and  sleep  seemed  to  have 
fled  from  me  entirely.  For  the  first 
three  nights  after  leaving  the  vessel  I 
could  not  close   my   eyes. 

My  intention  before  reaching  San  Car- 
los had  been  to  report  myself  imme- 
diately to  the  American  consul,  or  to 
any  one  holding  authority  from  the 
United  States  whom  I  might  find  there, 
and  follow  his  advice  in  regard  to  the 
steps   to    be    taken    to    deliver    the  pris- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     199 

oners,  treasure,  and  vessel  into  the 
hands  of  the  government  of  Chili ;  but 
I  was  told  by  the  captain  of  the  port 
that  no  American  consul  was  in  the 
place.  I  then  inquired  if  any  vessel  of 
war  belonging  to  the  United  States  was 
in  the  harbor,  intending  to  claim  its 
assistance.  There  was .  none ;  and  my 
next-  step  was  to  seek  the  Intendente  of 
the  port.  In  my  conversation  with  him 
I  told  him  that  my  wish  was  to  deliver 
up  every  thing  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chilian  authorities  as  soon  as  I  could 
do  it.  He  told  me  that  no  one  in  San 
Carlos  had  power  to  take  the  vessel  in 
the  name  of  the  government ;  to  find 
any  one  authorized  to  do  this,  I  must 
go  to  Valparaiso.  To  attempt  this  with- 
out further  aid  would  be,  I  felt,  to  risk 
the  lives  of  my  crew  and  passengers ; 
therefore  I  accepted  the  offer   of  the  In- 


200         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

tendente  to  take  the  prisoners  and  treas- 
ure from  the  Florida  and  send  them  to 
Valparaiso  in  some  Chilian  vessel  of 
■war  then  in  harbor,  with  the  under- 
standing that  on  reaching  that  port,  I 
was  then  to  deliver  every  thing  into 
the   hands   of  the   government. 

The  next  morning,  while  preparations 
were  making  to  transfer  Cambiaso  and 
Garcia,  together  with  the  treasure,  to 
the  Indefatigable,  the  Virago  and  Me- 
tero  were  reported  as  coming  into  the 
harbor. 

The  English  steamer  had  then  been 
successful  in  her  search  for  the  Eliza 
Cornish,  and  she  now  seemed  inclined 
to  follow  her  orders  to  the  letter,  and 
take  the  Florida  wherever  she  might  find 
her;  for  immediately  on  entering  the 
harbor,  captain  Stewart,  with  two  armed 
boats,  went  alongside  my   vessel ;  —  then, 


CArT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  201 

not  finding  me  there,  lie  left  the  boats 
lying  at  the  side  of  the  vessel,  while 
he  came  on  shore  and  to  the  house  of 
the  Intendente. 

Here  I  met  him ;  when  he  told  me 
that  he  had  orders  to  take  my  yessel 
wherever  he  found  her.  I  answered  th'at 
he  could  not  take  her,  as  I  had  her 
myself ;  when  with  something  of  what 
seemed  to  me  high  handed  insolence,  he 
insisted   on  his   right   and   his  orders. 

I  told  him  plainly  that  I  gave  up  the 
vessel,  treasure,  and  prisoners  to  no  one 
but  to  the  Chilian  authorities ;  that  if 
he  took  them  it  must  be  by  order  of 
the  authorities ;  and  that  I  should  pro- 
test, both  here  and  in  Valparaiso,  against 
his  taking  possession  of  the  Florida. 
This  was  all  I  could  do ;  for  I  found 
no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  In- 
tendente   or     of    any     other    officials     at 


202         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

San  Carlos  to  back  me  in  my  protest. 
They  all  seemed  to  stand  somewhat  in 
awe  of  captain  Stewart ;  or,  to  speak 
more  properly,  of  the  British  lion,  whose 
might  he  represented.  Captain  Stewart 
left  me  for  a  while,  and  soon  after  re- 
turned to  the  Intendente's,  bringing  with 
him  commander  Bynon,  who  had  sailed 
with  him  in  search  of  us,  being  ap- 
pointed by  the  Chilian  authorities  chief 
of  the  naval  expedition  to  the  Straits 
sent  for  our  rescue.  To  him  I  repeated 
what  I  had  said  to  captain  Stewart. 
He  heard  me  with  attention  and  polite- 
ness, and  assured  mc  that  I  should  be 
satisfied  and  all  my  just  claims  re- 
garded. 

After  some  consultation,  it  was  decided 
by  the  authorities  at  San  Carlos,  com- 
mander Bynon,  and  captain  Stewart,  that 
the   ringleaders   and    the    treasure  should 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H,  BROWN.     203 

be  transferred  to  the  Virago,  and  that 
aid  should  be  sent  to  the  Florida,  to 
guard  the  prisoners  remaining  there,  and 
navigate   the   vessel   to   Valparaiso. 

I  Avas  able  to  learn  but  little  of  the 
retaking  of  the  Eliza  Cornish,  and  the 
rescue  of  the  colonists  left  at  Wood's 
Bay,  merely  having  one  hurried  conver- 
sation with  my  old  fellow  prisoner,  the 
English  mate,  about  the  subject.  He 
told  me  that  the  morning  after  Cam- 
biaso  drove  him  in  shore,  at  Wood's 
Bay,  and  forbade  him  to  follow  the 
Florida,  the  forty  colonists  left  on  the 
land  hailed  him,  entreating  to  be  taken 
on  board ;  but  having  already  two  hun- 
dred crowded  into  his  vessel,  he  was 
afraid  to  do  it,  and  indeed  it  was  not 
allowed  by  those  on  board.  He  there- 
fore was  obliged  to  abandon  them,  and, 
getting    under    way,    beat    to     the    west- 


204         IMPRISONMENT    AND     ESCAPE    OF 

■ward.  After  beating  west  for  about 
two  days  he  met  the  English  steamers, 
which  immediately  sent  two  armed  boats 
to  board  the  E.  Cornish,  and  took  her 
as  a  prize.  I  was  told  by  a  sailor 
from  the  Virago,  that  the  moment  the 
boats  came  along  side,  the  mate  and 
crew  sprang  into  her,  so  glad  were  they 
of  any  chance   of   escape. 

The  leading  rebels  were  taken  from 
the  E.  Cornish  in  irons,  and  put  on 
the  Virago,  while  a  prize  master  and 
fresh  crew  were  sent  to  the  brig,  and 
she  was  anchored  in  the  Straits.  The 
Virago  then  proceeded  to  the  eastward, 
took  up  the  colonists  left  at  Wood's 
Bay,  then  went  on  to  Sandy  Bay  Col- 
ony  in  search  of  us ;  but  failing  to 
find  us,  returned,  took  the  E.  Cornish 
in  tow,  carried  her  out  of  the  Straits 
about  three  hundred  miles,  and   then   let 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  205 

licr  go  under  sail,  in  company  with  the 
Virago,  for  Valparaiso,  On  their  way 
they  had  kept  a  constant  look  out  for 
us,  searching  every  harbor,  as  the  im- 
pression was  strong  with  them,  that 
Cambiaso  would  attack  the  South  Pa- 
cific ports. 

By  Tuesday,  the  17th,  we  were  ready 
for  sea ;  and  I  must  do  captain  Stuart 
the  justice  to  say,  that  during  the 
two  days  of  preparation  he  rendered 
me  every  assistance  in  his  power.  Four 
seamen,  a  boatswain,  and  one  officer 
were  transferred  to  the  Florida  from 
the  Virago,  to  assist  my  exhausted  crew ; 
and  as  both  vessels  were  ready  for  sea 
at  the  same  time,  captain  Stuart  towed 
my  vessel  above  forty  miles  out.  In 
the  evening  of  the  17th,  a  fair  breeze 
springing  up,  we  parted  company.  Dur- 
ing most  of  the  passage  up  we  had 
18 


206         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

a  fine  breeze  and  pleasant  weat!  iv. 
The  steamer  was  to  touch  at  Yal- 
divia,  and  other  places  on  the  coast,  so 
that  I  got  ahead  of  her ;  and  by  Sun- 
day, the  22d,  I  -was  off  Caruma  head, 
just  south  of  Valparaiso.  Here  we  had 
light,  bafSing  winds,  and  were  obliged  to 
lay  over  till  the  next  morning.  About 
eight  o'clock  A.  M.  on  Monday,  the 
steamer  was  seen  south  of  us,  coming 
up  the  coast,  with  the  Eliza  Cornish 
in    tow. 

I  then  had  all  my  sails  clewed  up, 
set  the  American  ensign  at  the  mizen 
top-mast  head,  and  fired  two  four  poun- 
ders, to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
steamer.  She  soon  bore  down  for  us, 
took  us  in  tow  also,  and  by  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  of  February  23d,  we 
anchored     in     the    harbor    of   Valparaiso. 

On   my   arrival,  I   immediately  went   to 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     207 

the  United  States  Consul,  Mr.  William 
Duer,  and  through  him  transmitted  to 
the  Intendente  of  Valparaiso,  commander 
Robert  Simpson,  my  abandonment  of  the 
Florida.  In  reply  I  was  informed  by 
commander  Simpson  that  he  had  no 
authority  to  accept  the  vessel,  but  that 
the  subject  had  been  referred  by  him 
to   the   gOA^ernment   at  Santiago. 

The  prisoners  were  landed  from  the 
Virago,  and  the  ringleaders  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  the  law ;  but  the 
treasure  was  transferred  to  the  Eliza 
Cornish ;  and  I  learned  that  it  was 
claimed  by  the  English  admiral,  and 
surrendered  to  him  by  the  Chilian  gov- 
ernment ;  and  that  it  was  to  be  sent  at 
once  to  England,  without  being  landed 
at   all   in   Valparaiso. 

Upon  learning  this,  I  immediately  en- 
tered    a    protest    before     the     American 


208         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

consul,  Mr.  Duer.  against  the  seizure  of 
the  Florida,  and  claimed  salvage  on  the 
treasure  rescued  by  me  from  the  hands 
of  the  pirates.  On  the  28th,  Mr.  Duer 
received  a  communication  from  com- 
mander Simpson,  under  the  order  of  Don 
Antonio  Varas,  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Eolations  of  the  Chilian  government, 
wishing  to  know  fully  the  reasons  on 
which  I  founded  the  abandonment  of  my 
vessel,  in  order  to  determine  whether 
the  government  should  give  orders  to 
take  possession  of  the  vessel  in  the 
name  of  the  State.  I  then  requested  Mr. 
Duer  to  call  a  survey  on  the  Florida, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  her  pres- 
ent condition  and  the  probable  cost  of 
putting    her    in    sea-worthy   condition. 

Captains  Phineas  Leach  and  Joseph 
Carries,  with  Mr.  George  K.  Stevenson, 
master   ship   carpenter,   were    directed    by 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.    BROWN,  209 

Mr.  Duer  to  proceed  to  the  Florida, 
make  an  examination  of  her  state,  and 
report  to  the  consulate.  They  reported, 
after  a  minute  calculation,  the  cost  of 
putting  the  vessel  in  a  sea-worthy  con- 
dition to  be  over  four  thousand  dollars. 
This  report,  with  my  own  protest  made 
before  the  consul,  giving  an  account  of 
the  seizure  of  the  vessel,  Mr.  Shaw's 
barbarous  murder,  my  imprisonment,  the 
forcible  detention  of  our  private  prop- 
erty, the  re-capture  of  the  vessel,  its 
arrival  in  San  Carlos,  my  delivery  of  it 
into  the  hands  of  the  authorities  there, 
the  transfer  of  the  prisoners  and  treas- 
ure to  the  Virago,  our  passage  to  Val- 
paraiso, (fee.  &c.,  and  claiming  salvage 
on  the  treasure  and  restoration  of  the 
personal  property  of  myself,  passengers, 
and  crew,  I   transmitted   to  Don  Antonio 

Varas,   at  Santiago. 
18* 


210         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

While  "waiting  for  some  notice  of  these 
communications  from  the  government  au- 
thorities, I  found  that  the  Eliza  Cornish, 
having  the  treasure  on  board,  was  pre- 
paring for  sea,  under  the  orders  of  the 
British  admiral,  and  that  no  steps  were 
being  taken  by  the  Chilian  authorities 
to  claim  the  treasure.  I  therefore  caused 
process  to  be  issued  to  prevent  the  sail- 
ing of  the  vessel,  in  order  to  obtain  an 
adjudication  in  the  courts  of  Chili  for 
the  salvage  to  which  I  was  justly  en- 
titled, for  the  re-capture  of  the  treasure. 
But  although  there  was  ample  time  to 
execute  this  process  and  prevent  the 
removal  of  the  treasure  and  though  I 
did  every  thing  in  my  power  to  cause 
this  to  be  done,  yet  the  E.  Cornish 
was   permitted    to    sail    for   England. 

This  was  either  from  the  gross  neglect, 
or   the   wilful   default  of  the    officers    en- 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     211 

trusted  with  serving  the  process  ;  and 
I  myself  firmly  believe  that  the  neglect 
was  wilful,  and  that  it  arose  from  the 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  Chilian 
government  to  come  into  direct  collision 
with  the  British  admiral.  Nay,  more  : 
I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
many  articles  of  personal  property  be- 
longing to  myself,  my  passengers,  and 
my  crew,  were  also  on  the  E.  Cornish ; 
for  the  prisoners  had  in  their  possession 
at  the  time  we  came  into  San  Carlos 
all  our  wearing  apparel,  weapons,  and 
so  forth  ;  all  of  which  were  transferred 
to  the  Virago  with  the  prisoners,  and 
which,  I  was  told  at  San  Carlos,  should 
be  carefully  restored  to  me  on  reaching 
Valparaiso,  —  but  which  I  never  could 
trace  afterwards.  Of  my  own  personal 
effects  I  never  received  any  thing  but 
one   pistol. 


212         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

It  was  at  this  time  I  made  the  at- 
tempt to  recover  the  ring  taken  from 
Mr.  Shaw's  finger  at  the  time  of  his 
death  —  offering  a  reward  to  any  one 
who  would  bring  it  to  me.  I  had 
heard  that  it  was  seen  on  the  finger  of 
one  of  the  women  brought  to  San  Car- 
los  in   the   E.    Cornish. 

Finding  no  disposition  on  the  part  of 
the  government  to  attend  to  my  written 
communications,  I  went  to  Santiago  on 
the  14th  of  March,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Duer,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  our  Minister,  col- 
onel Peyton,  and  with  Don  Antonio 
Varas. 

By  the  advice  of  colonel  Peyton  and 
Mr.  Duer,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Don 
Antonio,  under  date  of  March  19th,  re- 
capitulating the  grievances  under  which 
I    had     labored ;    submitting    my    claims, 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  213 

together  with  my  protest,  and  appealing 
to  the  honor  of  the  government  to  see 
that  I  should  not  suffer  from  the  re- 
moval of  the  treasure,  since  it  had 
arisen  from  the  neglect  of  their  own 
ofl&cers.  I  also  submitted,  that  had  I 
not  recovered  it,  the  Chilian  government 
would  have  been  bound  to  make  the 
amount  good  to  the  owners ;  and  that 
at  great  hazard  to  my  life,  I  had  ren- 
dered such  service  to  the  State  as  no 
great  nation  permits  to  pass  unrewarded. 
In  reply  to  this,  an  interview  was 
appointed  by  Don  Antonio  Varas,  for 
the  next  day,  with  Mr.  Ducr  and  my- 
self. We  went  at  the  time  appointed, 
and  found  the  Minister  unwilling  to 
allow  any  claim  for  damages  sustained, 
either  in  person  or  property,  during  the 
time  the  Florida  was  in  the  hands  of 
the   rebels,   or   for   salvage    on   the    treas- 


214         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE   OF 

ure  ;  but  he  acknowledged  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  government  to  pay  for  the 
use  of  the  vessel  for  the  time  she  was 
in  its  service.  He  however  postponed 
the  decision  of  the  case  until  Monday, 
the  22d,  at  which  time  he  appointed 
another  interview.  Mr.  Duer  and  my- 
self were  at  his  office  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed, but  were  put  off  again  until 
the  next  day.  On  Tuesday,  we  held 
another  conversation  with  Don  Antonio 
Varas,  if  possible,  more  unsatisfactory 
than  the  first,  for  not  the  slightest  hope 
of    relief   was   held   forth. 

Despairing  of  obtaining  justice,  I 
returned  to  Valparaiso,  and,  on  the 
27th  of  March,  advertised  for  money  on 
bottomry,  to  repair  the  Florida  and  en- 
able her  to  proceed  to  sea.  I  was 
forced  to  do  this,  as  1  had  literally 
nothing   wherewith    to   pay    the   wages   of 


CAPT.     CHARLES     H.     BROWN.  215 

my  crew,  mucli  less  repair  the  vessel. 
The  advertisement  for  bottomry  remained 
in  the  Daily  Mercuria,  of  Valparaiso, 
until  April  3d,  when,  no  proposals  hav- 
ing been  received,  I  was  forced  to  put 
the  barque  up  for  sale,  and  advertised 
her  on  the  7th.  The  next  day,  the 
8th,  Mr.  Duer  addressed  another  letter 
to  the  Minister,  Don  Antonio  Yaras,  in 
which  he  proposed  a  compromise.  This 
was  done  to  avoid  the  necessity  for  the 
sale  of  the  vessel,  and  in  hopes  that 
an  appeal  to  the  sense  of  honor  of  the 
government  might  have  its  effect.  Mr. 
Duer,  at  first  protesting  that  in  making 
this  offer  he  by  no  means  admitted, 
either  for  himself  or  for  me,  that  my 
claims  were  not  in  all  respects  just  and 
sound,  went  on  to  say  that  the  price 
paid  for  the  use  of  the  vessel,  in  tak- 
ing the  prisoners  to   Magellan,  was  much 


216       IMPRISONMENT     AND     ESCAPE     OF 

less  than  it  would  have  been  had  not 
the  Florida  been  bound  to  the  United 
States,  via  Rio  Janeiro,  and  therefore 
could  stop  on  her  way  at  Magellan  with 
comparatively  little  loss  or  expense. 
Nevertheless,  he  offered  to  accept  for 
the  use  of  the  vessel,  from  the  time  of 
her  arrival  at  Magellan  till  she  reached 
Valparaiso  again,  a  sum  per  day  equal 
to  that  which  she  received  according  to 
the  contract  made  from  Valparaiso  to 
Magellan,  with  the  addition  of  ten  per 
cent.  The  claim  for  salvage  on  the 
specie  was  not  waived,  nor  the  compen- 
sation for  my  personal  services.  The 
personal  losses  of  Mr.  Buela,  the  mate, 
and  crew,  were  ascertained  by  Mr.  Duer, 
and  stated  at  what  he  considered  a  low 
and   reasonable   amount. 

I   was    induced    to    make    the    offer   of 
this   compromise,   from    my    desire    to   do 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     217 

the  best  in  my  power  for  my  owners, 
and  from  my  sense  of  the  great  sacri- 
fice to  them  which  the  forced  sale  of 
the  vessel  would  cause  ;  and  also  from 
my  utter  inability  to  meet  any  more 
delay,  or  incur  any  further  expense, 
destitute  as  I  was  of  even  the  necessa- 
ries of  life,  and  dependent  as  my  crew 
were  upon  me. 

This  letter  was  dated  April  8th ;  but 
no  answer  was  received  until  the  24th. 
In  the  meantime,  proposals  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  vessel  were  made  by 
Messrs.  F.  A.  Richardson  &  Co.,  offer- 
ing the  sum  of  two  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  barque.  The  vessel 
being  advertised  for  sale  on  account  of 
whom  it  might  concern,  and  this  being 
the  highest  offer  received,  of  course  it 
was  accepted. 

On  the  24th,  Mr.  Duer  received  a 
19 


218        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

letter  from  Don  Antonio  Yaras,  denying 
the  right  to  any  claim  for  services  ren- 
dered or  losses  suffered  in  consequence 
of  the  acts  of  the  revolted  colonists, 
and  proposing  that  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  time  during  which  the  Florida 
should  be  considered  as  employed  in  the 
services  of  the  government,  an  agent 
should  be  employed  to  go  between  me 
and   the   government. 

He  waives  all  examination  of  the  es- 
timate formed  in  Mr.  Duer's  letter,  of 
the  amount  to  be  allowed  as  claimed 
by  the  Florida ;  he  takes  leave  to  ob- 
serve that  Mr.  Duer  takes  it  for  granted 
that  the  Florida  was  in  the  service  of 
the  government  not  only  during  the 
time  she  was  sailing  under  the  orders 
of  the  authorities  of  Chili,  but  also  the 
period  she  was  in  the  power  of  the 
insurrectionists ;    and    that    the    personal 


CAPT.  CHAELES  H.  BROWN.     219 

losses  of  the  captain,  sailors,  and  pas- 
sengers are  included  in  the  claim  ;  whereas 
they  should  be  considered  as  resulting 
from  the  acts  of  the  rebels,  which  the 
government  is   not   responsible   for. 

With  an  excuse  for  his  delay  in  an- 
swering Mr.  Duer's  letter,  founded  upon 
his  absence  from  the  capital  for  a  few 
days,  and  other  urgent  occupations,  he 
signs  himself,  "Your  obedient  servant, 
Antonio   Varas." 

On  receiving  this  letter,  Mr.  Duer 
joined  me  in  entering  a  protest  at  the 
consulate,  against  the  injuries  and  dam- 
ages I  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
Chilian  government,  and  the  affair  was 
put  in  the  hands  of  our  government 
authorities,   where  it  now   remains. 


CHAPTER    X.       . 

Cambiaso's  trial — His  execution  —  His  character — Garcia 
—  My  interview  with  him —  The  oflScer  saved  by  Garcia — 
His  wife's  gratitude  —  Mr.  Duer's  kindness — Mr.  Dunn  — 
Captain  Avalos —  Conclusion. 

During  the  time  that  I  had  been  oc- 
cupied in  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  re- 
cognition of  my  claims  from  the  Chilian 
government,  the  trial  of  Cambiaso,  Gar- 
cia, and  the  other  ringleaders  among 
the  rebels,  had  been  going  on  at  Val- 
paraiso. 

Cambiaso's  trial  vras  not  public,  and 
I  was  not  called  in  during  its  course ; 
consequently  I  could  know  but  little  of 
it.  I  attended  the  execution  myself, 
painful     as  the    sight    was    to    me,    from 


CAPT.    CHARLES     H.    BROWN.  221 

a  strange  desire  which  I  had  to  see 
the  last  of  men  who  had  caused  me  so 
much  suffering,  and  from  a  wish  to 
know  how  they  would  meet  their  fate. 
Cambiaso  was  .led  out  heavily  ironed, 
and  therefore  little  could  be  judged  of 
the  state  of  his  feelings  from  his  bear- 
ing or  appearance ;  but  he  certainly 
showed    no   positive   cowardice. 

I  have  sometimes  thought,  in  reflecting 
on  the  intercourse  I  had  with  him,  and 
the  traits  of  character  he  manifested, 
that  he  had  naturally  fine  abilities, 
which,  under  a  different  training  and 
different  circumstances,  might  have  led 
him  through  a  brilliant  course.  He  had, 
however,  a  fatal  vanity,  which  was  con- 
stantly a  stronger  temptation  to  him 
than  his  principles  of  right  were  able 
to  withstand.     Much  of  his  cruelty  seemed 

to   me   to  arise  from   a    sort   of    bravado, 
19* 


222         IMPEISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

and  a  desire  to  impress  his  followers 
with  a  great  idea  of  his  power  and  his 
courage.  I  came  to  this  conclusion  from 
noticing  that  his  words  were  always 
more  cruel  than  his  actions,  and  yet 
that  his  threats  did  not  seem  to  be 
uttered  under  the  influence  of  passion ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  were  delivered  in 
a  grandiloquent  manner  which  sometimes 
would  have  made  me  feel  inclined  to 
laugh,  if  the  subjects  had  not  generally 
been    too    serious    for   a  joke. 

His  personal  vanity  was  also  very 
great ;  and,  indeed,  he  had  some  excuse 
for  it,  for  he  was  certainly  a  very  hand- 
some man.  His  dress  was  always  very 
gaudy  —  sometimes  blue,  with  gilt  trim- 
mings, sometimes  green  —  always  with  two 
epaulets,  and  he  went  constantly  armed. 
I  have  called  liim  cowardly,  but  perhaps 
nn    that    1    have   done    him   injustice.      It 


CAPT.  •  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     223 

is  possible  that  what  seemed  cowardice 
to  me,  was  only  the  workings  of  a  sen- 
sitive conscience ;  and  that  his  shunning 
the  eye  of  those  with  whom  he  talked 
was  from  a  sense  of  guilt ;  his  punish- 
ment may  have  already  begun  in  his 
remorse.  There  were  certainly  two  or 
three  slight  indications  of  this  during 
our  intercourse ;  for  instance,  he  was 
constantly  promising  me  reparation  for 
the  wrongs  he  had  done  me,  "  when  we 
should  reach  port,"  or  "  when  general 
Cruz  should  .come  into  power;"  and 
after  each  new  crime  he  seemed  to 
harden  himself  against  the  recollection 
of  it  by  some  drunken  frolic  with  the 
men,  or  some  unusual  display.  I  cannot 
forget  that  my  situation  made  it  almost 
impossible  for  me  to  judge  him  with 
impartiality ;  and  how  difficult  it  is  in 
any   situation   for    one  man    to    judge    of 


224        IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

the  temptations  of  another,  or  of  what 
may   be   urged   in   his  excuse. 

Cambiaso  had  a  wife  living  near  San 
Carlos,  but  I  was  told  that  she  was 
not  a  woman  of  good  character,  and 
that  he  had  separated  from  her.  I  hope 
he  had  no  children  to  inherit  the  dis- 
grace attached  to   his  name. 

Garcia  was  not  acquitted  by  the  court 
martial,  on  the  ground  of  his  being  com- 
pelled to  follow  Cambiaso  from  fear  of 
his  life,  and  in  consideration  of  varicTus 
acts  of  humanity  which  he  had  per- 
formed, and  which  were  repeated  by  the 
rebels  themselves,  but  held  for  a  second 
trial.  After  his  first  trial,  I  called 
upon  him,  and  found  his  sister  with 
him.  She  was  evidently  a  lady,  and  I 
understood  that  his  family  were  among 
the  most  respectable  in  Valparaiso.  He 
received   me   very    politely — even   kindly 


CAPT.  CHARLES  H.  BROWN.     225 

—  and  congratulated  me  on  my  escape ; 
at  the  same  time  thanking  me  for  some 
kindnesses  which  I  had  been  able  to 
show  him  during  his  imprisonment  on 
the   Florida. 

"While  I  was  in  Valparaiso,  I  saw 
( in  his  prison, )  the  officer  whose  life 
was  spared  through  Garcia's  interference. 
He  was  obliged  to  have  his  second 
trial,  and  as  his  wife  visited  him  daily, 
he  asked  me  to  come  and  see  him  again, 
saying  that  she  wanted  to  thank  me  for 
my  sympathy  on  the  night  that  he  was 
condemned  by  Cambiaso.  These  marks 
of  gratitude  for  slight  favors  made  me 
feel  that  no  men  are  so  far  wrong  that 
some  good  feeling  does  not  often  show 
itself,  when  occasion  calls  it  out ;  and 
that  the  saying  which  I  have  heard 
somewhere,  that  "  the  difference  between 
the  best  good   man   and    the    worst    bad 


226         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OP 

man  in  this  world  is  not  nearly  so 
great  in  the  eyes  of  God  as  it  is  in 
our  eyes,"   is   perhaps   very   true. 

In  this  narrative,  I  have  endeavored 
to  speak  impartially  of  every  one  whom 
I  have  had  occasion  to  mention  ;  and 
in  cases  where  I  have  had  occasion  to 
record  wrongs  done  to  me,  I  have  en- 
deavored to  give  only  a  plain,  straight- 
forward narrative  of  facts,  without  al- 
lowing my  own  feelings  to  bias  me  more 
than   must  needs  be. 

In  regard  to  the  salvage  question,  I 
cannot  but  feel  that  I  have  been  treated 
unjustly,  both  by  the  Chilian  government 
and  by  the  British  officers  at  Valparaiso  ; 
but  I  have  endeavored  to  state  tlie  facts 
as  they  occurred,  leaving  the  judgment 
of  the  case  with  my  countrymen.  I  am 
glad  to  take  occasion  here  to  thank  Mr. 
Duer,   not   only   for    the    assistance  which 


CAPT.  CHAELES  H.  BEOWN.     227 

he  rendered  me,  in  the  way  of  his 
office,  but  for  the  kindness  and  sympathy 
which  I  received  from  him  ;  for  the 
ready  interest  which  he  showed  in  my 
affairs  ;  and  for  the  activity  with  which 
he   followed  up   my   claims. 

There  are  those  to  whom  the  reading 
of  this  narrative  will  bring  great  pain, 
because  it  will  bring  vividly  oefore  their 
minds  the  sad  fate  of  a  dear  relative. 
I  refer  to  the  friends  of  Mr.  Shaw.  To 
them  I  can  only  offer  my  deep  sympathy, 
and  the  assurance  that  Mr.  Shaw  was 
to  me  not  simply  a  companion,  but  a 
deeply  valued  friend,  and  that  my  grief 
for  him  was  lasting   and  deep. 

To  Mr.  Dunn  and  captain  Avalos  I 
render  my  thanks  for  supporting  me  in 
maintaining  my  authority  on  the  Florida, 
and  for  the  kindness  .-yhich  they  showed 
me  after  I  reached  Valparaiso. 


228         IMPRISONMENT    AND    ESCAPE    OF 

Last  of  all,  let  me  render  thanks  to 
that  Providence  which  has  rescued  me 
from  so  many  and  such  great  dangers, 
and  restored  me  to  my  family  and 
friends,  when  I  had  so  much  reason  to 
despair   of  ever   meeting   them   again. 

I  have  given  this  narrative  to  the 
public  from  the  thought  that  my  ad- 
ventures and  escapes  would  not  be 
without  their  interest  to  my  countrymen  ; 
and  tliat  the  plain,  unpretending  narra- 
tive of  a  sea-faring  man  from  their  own 
shores,  would  show  to  landsmen  what 
they  sometimes  suffer  who  "go  down  to 
the   sea   in   ships." 


3  1205  02190  6399 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  934  120    7 


